Oklahoma High Court Hears School Storm Shelter Arguments

An attorney for supporters of an initiative petition to place storm shelters in public schools told the Oklahoma Supreme Court that Attorney General Scott Pruitt’s office abused its discretion by re-writing a ballot title that he says was not legally incorrect.

The state’s highest court heard oral arguments Tuesday from attorneys in the lawsuit over an initiative petition that asks voters to decide a $500 million bond issue to pay for school storm shelters.

David Slane, who represents supporters of the petition, says the attorney general’s ballot title overemphasizes the funding method and underemphasizes the purpose of the petition.

The lawsuit was filed in October by Take Shelter Oklahoma and Kristi Conatzer, the mother of one of seven children killed when a tornado struck a school in Moore last May.