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October 27, 2009

Edmondson addresses education meeting

By Andrew Knittle

Attorney General Drew Edmondson was in Norman Monday where he served as keynote speaker for the 2009 Town Hall Conference, an annual meeting held to address critical issues facing Oklahoma.

The Town Hall conference is presented each year by The Oklahoma Academy, a nonprofit group that brings citizens, students and state and business leaders together to generate ideas to solve tough issues facing Oklahoma, Julie Knutson, the academy's president and CEO, said Monday.

With the focus on this year's Town Hall being on preparing the state's young people for the workforce, Edmondson discussed the Oklahoma Educational Technology Trust, which he helped to create back in 2001, and its financial health following the collapse on Wall Street in late 2008.

Created to better prepare Oklahoma's students to compete in a global marketplace where technology is ever-changing, Edmondson said the OETT is doing what it was designed to do when it was formed using $30 million from communications giant SBC (now AT--T). He said the trust has already benefited more than 150 schools since 2003, when it officially began awarding grants.

He also discussed the financial hit the trust took in past few months.

"We still have the endowment," Edmondson said. "It took a little hit last year, dropped dramatically down to $24.8 million, but it's back up to $28.6 million.

"As the stock market rebounds, so does the Oklahoma Educational Technology Trust."

Edmondson also said the OETT tracks its effectiveness and classified his brainchild as "a public-private partnership that has done great things for students across Oklahoma."

Many Norman schools have received OETT grants since 2003, including Monroe Elementary School (2009), Norman North High School (2008), McKinley Elementary School (2007), Alcott Middle School (2006), Irving Middle School (2006), Longfellow Middle School (2005), Jefferson Elementary (2005), Whittier Middle School (2004), Norman High School (2004), Madison Elementary School (2003) and Truman Elementary School (2003).

John Hubbard Elementary School in Noble (2004) and Central Elementary School in Moore (2003) also have received OETT grants.

According to its Web site, OETT grants cannot exceed $40,000 and are to be used to purchase wireless laptops, SMART interactive whiteboards, digital cameras and other pricey technology items.

The OETT has awarded more than $10 million in grants since 2003.

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