As school districts cut their budgets, State Auditor Gary Jones outlines a plan to put millions back into education.
For decades, more than half of Oklahoma's counties came up short when collecting property taxes.
Many are undervaluing properties, costing public education millions.
Jones says this is happening partly due to political reasons. He says some county assessors are keeping taxes low to gain votes during elections.
But he says most of the problems can be attributed to poor training and outdated software being used across the state.
“We're not saying we should go around and increase everyone's taxes,” Jones said. “We are saying the system should be fair and everyone should pay their fair share.”
Right now there’s a pending bill that would fund new software for all 77 counties.
It would also authorize the state to take over Assessor offices in the event they refuse to comply.
Jones says this will ensure everyone pays their fair share. Over time he believes this will add tens of millions, maybe even hundreds of millions of dollars back into education.
