MUCH of what one needs to know about state government dysfunction is found in lawmakers’ lack of support for, or knowledge of, the Oklahoma School of Science and Math. Located just a few blocks south of Capitol, the school is a true center of excellence, the sort of jewel that governors and other policymakers should boast about at every turn. Yet the school is threatened by underfunding and inattention.

The flat budget appropriation the school received from the Legislature for this fiscal year, which ends June 30, was an improvement over the previous three years. During that time, OSSM saw its budget slashed by 22 percent, from $7.8 million to $6.2 million. Consequently, the school had to give pink slips to 23 permanent faculty and staff — it now has 52.

OSSM houses exceptional students during their junior and senior years of high school. It’s home (the students stay on campus) to boys and girls from across Oklahoma; indeed all 77 counties have had students graduate from the school, which opened in 1990. The 22 graduating classes comprise 1,346 alumni, 85 percent of whom have remained in technical or scientific career fields. These include roughly 100 physicians, 300 engineers and 60 researchers and educators with doctorate degrees.

But OSSM is small. It has just 144 students presently, with room for twice that many. It has no particular champion at the Legislature. This hurts its cause when the school’s dynamic president, Frank Wang, or others try to gin up support. OSSM also is hurt by false perceptions that have taken root through the years. For example: