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Oklahoma lawmakers may have improved state funding for public schools more than any other state in the country in 2018, but according to a new national comparison, only Texas is worse when it comes to stacking up current state aid levels against those provided before recession struck a decade ago.

After adjusting for inflation, analysts found that Oklahoma’s state aid to schools is still 15 percent less for the current fiscal year than it was in 2008, despite the fact that lawmakers increased state aid funding per student by 19 percent, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, or CBPP.

Only Texas’ state formula funding was found to be worse — down 20 percent — when comparing per-student funding between 2008-2019, even after adjusting for inflation.

The nonpartisan think tank works at the federal and state levels on fiscal policy and public programs that affect low- and moderate-income individuals and families.

“Teacher protests led to sizable boosts to state funding for schools in several states, but those boosts were not enough to make up for earlier cuts. Funding sources for these boosts are not stable enough,” said Michael Leachman, senior director for state research at CBPP, in a conference call with reporters.