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Media Kit - News Articles
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Whites no longer majority in urban schools
By RON JENKINS
Associated Press Writer
January 13, 2009
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Poverty and a growing population of minority students, including non-English speaking Hispanics, are presenting major challenges to public schools in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, a state school official said Monday.
Sandy Garrett, state superintendent of public instruction, released the statistics during a meeting of the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Education. The chairman of the panel is Sen. Jim Halligan, R-Stillwater, a first-term senator and former president of Oklahoma State University.
Garrett said whites now make up only 22 percent of the student population in Oklahoma City. Hispanics are the biggest minority at 40 percent, followed by blacks at 30 percent, American Indians at 5 percent and Asians at 3 percent.
In Tulsa, whites total 34 percent of the school district population, the same as blacks, with Hispanics at 20 percent, Indians at 11 percent and Asians at 1 percent.
More than 80 percent of students in both districts qualify for free or reduced lunches because of their families' low income levels.
Statewide, whites make up 57 percent of the population of all of the 534 school districts, a big drop since 1990, when the white population was 74 percent.
Garrett and Higher Education Chancellor Glen Johnson appeared before the budget panel to present performance reviews of their systems. The committee is conducting a series of meetings in preparation for the Feb. 2 beginning of the Oklahoma Legislature.
The state school chief again stressed her preference for expanding the school year and the school day to improve the education of Oklahoma students.
She said excessive testing to meet state and federal mandates is leaving little time for teachers to teach, suggesting that some testing chores in some subjects could be handled at the local level.
Garrett advocated adding five days to Oklahoma's 175-day school calendar a year ago, but the proposal never became law because of budget restraints.
Sen. Clark Jolley, R-Edmond, suggested that adding 30 minutes to the school day may be something that could be done in a tight budget year, but said steps should be taken to make sure the extra time is not wasted on areas that do not improve students' education.
Johnson presented the committee figures showing administrative costs had declined as a percentage of the higher education budget, while more students were graduating from colleges and universities.
Sen. John Ford, R-Bartlesville, said he continues to get complaints about the growing cost of college education in the state.
Senators asked Johnson to provide the committee with figures on the rise in student costs from 2000 to 2008, the average administrative cost per student for that time period and the increase in salaries of college administrators.
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More births than deaths, migrations result in growth
Numbers released Monday by the U.S. Census Bureau rank Oklahoma as one of the fastest- growing states.
Vallery Brown
The Oklahoman, December 23, 2008
Oklahoma is in the top 20 for percentage of population growth between July 2007 and July 2008 — an increase of 34,238.
According to the report, people moving into Oklahoma from other states and countries and natural increases in population account for the changes.
Steve Beleu, regional depository librarian for the Oklahoma Department of Libraries who specializes in demographic data, said he is not surprised by the increase.
"This is steady, expected growth,” Beleu said. "We’ve not lost many major employers over that time and we haven’t gained many either.”
Population by the numbers
• 3,642,361: Population as of July 2008.
• 34,238: Net increase in population between July 2007 and July 2008
• 61.7: Percent from natural increase (more births than deaths).
• 37.8: Percent from international and domestic migration.
• .5: Percent residual balancing adjustment made by the Census Bureau.
Oklahoma’s Rank Nationally
• 16: Net rate of domestic migration.
• 19: In population percentage growth.
• 26: Death rate with 34,748 deaths.
• 28: In total population.
• 28: Birth rate with 55,858 births
• 29: Net rate of international migration.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
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Oklahoma City police Sgt. Paco Balderrama tries to inform the public
LAW ENFORCEMENT10-YEAR VETERAN IS AMONG ABOUT 30 SPANISH-SPEAKING MEMBERS OF OKLAHOMA CITY
BY BRIAN SARGENT
The Oklahoman
January 4, 2009
This month, Oklahoma City police Sgt. Paco Balderrama celebrates his 10th year with the department. His titles have included patrol officer in the Will Rogers Division, field training officer, crisis intervention officer, police academy self-defense instructor, Spanish-language instructor, Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) instructor and Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit member.
Originally from El Paso, Texas, Balderrama has lived in Oklahoma City since 1993. He graduated from U.S. Grant High School in 1995.
In 2000, Balderrama, 32, was named the police department’s rookie of the year.
Balderrama has been a public information officer for nearly three years.
Q: Talk about how your interactions with Spanish-speaking media may be different than English-speaking media. Is there any difference on certain stories?
A: Really, the stories are about the same. Everybody runs with the major stories. Sadly, a lot of times it is the negative stories such as homicides and robberies and things like that. Really, the Spanish-speaking media wants the same as English-speaking media wants, which are basically the major stories. It keeps me very busy having to deal with twice as many people. Basically, it’s the same job. I just do it for them in Spanish.
Q: Is there a lack of Spanish-speaking officers in Oklahoma City?
A: Basically, our long-term goal is to have the percentage of Oklahoma City police officers that can speak Spanish to mirror that of the city’s Hispanic population. If it is about 20 percent of the population, then we want to have about 20 percent of the officers. Right now we have about 30 Spanish-speaking officers. We would like to have about 200. That’s something we always ask. It’s a definite plus when people apply to be a police officer and go through the academy. Of course, we have our minimum standards that everybody has to pass. And if you don’t pass those minimum standards you just don’t get in. It’s definitely a plus if somebody does speak Spanish. If we have identical candidates, and we have one spot left, and one of them speaks Spanish, that recruit is probably going to get chosen.
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Top Places to Live 2009 (www.relocateamerica.com)
1. Tulsa
2. Dallas-Fort Worth
3. Pittsburgh
4. Raleigh-Durham, N.C.
5. Huntsville, Ala.
6. Houston
7. Albuquerque, N.M.
8. Lexington, Ky.
9. Little Rock
10. Oklahoma City
Welcome to Oklahoma City, Capital of the New Century!
Here, city leaders and citizens had a vision—a far-reaching vision that's led Oklahoma City into a new frontier of urban innovation.
It's a pioneering work in progress, and a driver of unprecedented growth and change. Today, this city stands as a vision accomplished. We are a Capital City with many strengths. We are a Western Capital, Technology Capital, Medical Capital, Multicultural Capital and Jazz Capital.
Residents of Oklahoma City are probably more optimistic than anyone in the country about their local economy. Our major employers include the State of Oklahoma, Tinker Air Force Base, the U.S. Postal Service, the University of Oklahoma, the FAA Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center, the INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center, the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and Oklahoma University Medical Center. Last year, Forbes Magazine named us the most "recession-proof" economy in the entire country. Today, we stand alone with the lowest unemployment rate in the nation. We expect to continue growing because of the massive investments we have made in our schools and our downtown infrastructure, and because of our encouragement and support for entrepreneurs.
A billion-dollar renaissance has seen sweeping changes and improvements across nearly every sector. Significant downtown business development has accompanied the renovation of convention, cultural and educational sites. Landmark projects such as the mile-long Bricktown Canal have infused a new life and vibrancy into the Southwest's fastest-growing entertainment district. A commissioned 55-foot signature sculpture by world-renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly serves as a beacon for the museum and downtown. And neighborhood programs citywide have helped restore historic homes and buildings to their original luster.
Oklahoma City has some of the most affordable housing in the nation, and yet it is also stable. Housing prices have never declined here. In 2001, our voters approved an initiative known as "MAPS for Kids," that committed $750 million to renovate or rebuild every single building in our inner-city school system. That was followed in 2007 by a successful vote to build gymnasiums in every elementary school. Progress on construction continues, and the citizens of Oklahoma City remain optimistic about the future of our school system.
Oklahoma City has many, many recreation options, including a trails plans that will link the entire city. We have three major lakes within the city limits. New members of the community, the Oklahoma City Thunder National Basketball Association team, sponsor a youth basketball league. Oklahoma City is going places, and so are its people. We're off to the ballet. Museums. Theatre. Golf courses. Philharmonic. Malls. To the lake, zoo, theme park and the big game. Our mild climate offers year-round sunshine. We have low traffic congestion, low crime, and low pollution. And an ever-broadening cultural landscape.
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Oklahoma sees 55% increase in Hispanic population by the numbers
CENSUS BUREAU RELEASES ESTIMATES FOR CHANGE SINCE 2000
BY JUSTIN JUOZAPAVICIUS
The Oklahoman
Published: May 14, 2009
TULSA — Oklahoma’s Hispanic population has grown by 55 percent since 2000, according to estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau and the state.
The estimated increase is 100,000 people.
Hispanics account for nearly 8 percent of Oklahoma’s total population of 3,642,361, up from about 5.2 percent in 2000, the Oklahoma Department of Commerce said.
The Census Bureau estimated nearly half of the nation’s children younger than 5 are minorities, with 25 percent being Hispanic.
The nation’s overall minority population last July was 104.6 million, or 34 percent of the total population. Minorities are defined as any group other than single-race, non-Hispanic white.
Texas County in the Oklahoma Panhandle had the state’s largest proportion of Hispanic residents, 42 percent, according to state Commerce Department estimates. Harmon County in far southwestern Oklahoma had the second-highest at 25 percent, followed by Cimarron, Jackson and Tillman counties, the department estimated.
In one county, Adair, minorities made up the majority of residents. Of minorities, American Indians accounted for 42 percent of that county’s population total.
Other findings
• The Hispanic population was younger than the total population, with a median age of 27.7 years in 2008, compared with 36.8 for the total U.S.
• Thirty-four percent of the Hispanic population was under 18, compared with 24 percent of the overall population. Six percent of Hispanics were 65 or older, compared with 13 percent overall.
• The top 10 counties nationwide with a majority Hispanic population are in Texas.
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