Boren acknowledged that not everyone in pleased with the proposal.

Some political leaders are irritated with Boren, and the influential Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, a limited government advocacy organization that has in the past been critical of public schools, has panned the tax.

It says the state could find money for education through spending cuts and by selling state assets.

Municipalities, which depend heavily on sales taxes for operating revenue, fear the new state tax would make things more difficult for them and accelerate the growth of untaxed online sales.

And some are concerned because the poor will pay a disproportionate share of the tax in relation to their income.

But Boren says something has to be done. With the legislative session three-quarters complete, Boren said it would take “a miracle of Biblical proportions” for a comprehensive solution to emerge at the Capitol.

“At the end of the day, this will be the only light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.

Boren said that since 1977, the state’s share of OU’s budget has shrunk from 47 percent to 12 percent, and is likely to fall further.

“If we can’t break through this mentality,” he said, “we will have put this state in jeopardy.”

Randy Krehbiel 918-581-8365 randy.krehbiel@tulsaworld.com

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