Alva Review-Courier -

The failure of Oklahoma’s public-school system to produce enough students proficient in core academic subjects is creating significant workforce challenges that compound over time and deter new job creation, based on data presented to lawmakers during a recent hearing.

Ben Lepak, executive director of the State Chamber Research Foundation, told members of a Joint Committee on Pandemic Relief Funding working group that Oklahoma has thousands more jobs available than it has jobseekers, particularly in areas requiring educational attainment.

“We lack people,” Lepak said.

In 2021, he said there we...