State Representative Charles Ortega was the guest speaker at the Jackson County Retired Educators' luncheon on Wednesday. Ortega reassured the group that their representatives in Oklahoma City are both supportive of the state's educators and aware of their concerns.

"All state revenues are down," Ortega said. "Sales tax, income tax; they're all down 29 to 30%... If the trend continues there'll be a severe problem. If we use up the rainy day fund and the reserve stimulus funds, 2012 will look worse." Stressing that we must be careful, Ortega said that the four core programs need to be maintained: education, health, public safety and transportation. Transportation doesn't seem as important as some others, but without it we can't do anything, he said. Transportation is also supported by federal tax dollars, so that will help.

Ortega spoke to the concern regarding state employees and their health insurance coverage with Health Choice. Some colleges and universities have been allowed to switch to Blue Cross/Blue Shield resulting in some savings. Ortega said in his experience, competition lowers or maintains costs, usually reducing them.

The ballot for this year will be a long one, according to the representative. We have contests for: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Treasurer, Labor Commissioner, and State Attorney General. There will also be 9 to 10 questions on the ballot. We need to "study these people running for office," Ortega said. "It's not about party; it's about individual conviction."

"I hope you're praying. I truly believe in the power of prayer. It's saved my skin more than once," Ortega said. "We definitely need to be in prayer."

According to Ortega, though not pleasant, the cuts in some of the agencies may be necessary because the state government has grown faster than the public sector.

One member of the audience asked if lobbying at the capitol is more effective than lobbying at home. Ortega welcomes his constituents while at the capitol, but said meeting people in groups, like the luncheon helps foster the one-to-one relationship to tell the government representatives what you want.

Another person asked about the safety of rural schools. Ortega said we have over 530 school districts in Oklahoma. Some of them are in close proximity. Superintendents make about $90,000 to $95,000 a year and may only have 130 students, or so, in their districts. There are many issues involved in rural districts: busing, distances between schools, and what really benefits the students. The decision to consolidate school districts is up to the State Superintendent of Schools and the individual schools. When we're trying to assess how safe our schools are, we have to ask ourselves what we want to accomplish.