Ann Cody Promotes Financial Courses for high School

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Sasha Bradley, House Media
Capitol: (405)557-7422

Contact: State Rep. Ann Coody
Capitol: (405) 557-7398
Lawton: (405) 330-3976

Financial Courses Needed in High Schools

OKLAHOMA CITY -In 2003 Oklahoma ranked in the top six states in the nation for highest level of bankruptcy and over 30,000 Oklahomans relied on food stamps.

To reduce those statistics, State Rep. Ann Coody said it is time to catch the state's youth at an early age and teach them financial basics before they too find themselves drowning in debt.

At Coody's request, members of the House Common Education Committee met this week to conduct a legislative study to consider adding money management curriculum in Oklahoma schools.

"Debt problems and bankruptcy are facing too many of Oklahoma's young people right out of college because they have never learned how to financially budget their lives," said Coody, R-Lawton. "It is essential for students to understand personal finance if they are going to succeed in life and the best way to make that happen is through education in our public schools."

State Sen. Jolley spoke on the issue, agreeing classes should be taught in high schools.

"Any personal finance economics course has to be rigorous and relevant to the world in which these kids are going to live. It can't be just how to balance a checkbook. It has to include financial budgeting and planning, calculating both simple and compound interest, understanding basic financial products and their advantages and the dangers of overextending your debt limit," said Jolley, R-Edmond. "The curriculum that is offered in Oklahoma high schools needs to meet the new "three R's" of rigor, relevance and relationships. The addition of this course would be a major step forward in providing that type of curriculum for Oklahoma's future."

Dr. Sue Lynn Sasser from the Oklahoma Council on Economic Education, which develops and provides financial literacy curriculum for schools, said the material and training is out there -it simply needs to be implemented in the classroom.

Some teachers, concerned about students' lack of budget knowledge, are already taking that next step and teaching students about personal finance.

Lori Kennedy-Goodbary, a consumer science teacher for Guthrie High School, educates her students on financially responsibility. She makes students clock in and out of her class every day as if they are working a real job. Each student gets an imaginary wage of $10 an hour and must set up a budget as if they were living on their own and having to pay all bills. At the end of the semester the students have to come to her with a proposal/budget on purchasing a car. The car has to be within in their means and allow them to continue to live comfortably, pay their bills and put money into savings.

"The students who have her class will now have the knowledge to live a good life - and a good life without huge amounts of credit card debt or auto loans," said Coody. "This is something all students should learn before it is too late."

American teens (age 12-15) spend more than $100 a week and 20 percent have at least one credit card. The average college senior has over $7,000 in debt, four credit cards and no job.

Currently, the Oklahoma Center for Economic Education provides teacher's with free, hands-on training on financial literacy. Sasser said the OCEE also places a financial literacy exercise for teachers to use in the classroom in The Oklahoman Wednesday edition.

With numerous representatives from the school system, Oklahoma Banker's Association, Oklahoma Society of CPA's, Graumann Investment Advisors and many other financial services now supporting her proposal, Coody said she hopes to get the Legislature to require financial literacy courses in the classroom next year.

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