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Supporters of an effort to keep at least 65 percent of public school money in the classroom delivered 11 boxes of petitions Monday to the Oklahoma secretary of state's office to have the issue placed on the ballot.

Bob Sullivan, Oklahoma's honorary chairman of First Class Education for Oklahoma, said supporters garnered more than 170,000 signatures. Organizers had 90 days to collect about 117,000 signatures of registered voters. The deadline was Monday.

Workers in the secretary of state's office will start counting the signatures June 26. They will be delivered to the Oklahoma Supreme Court for validation and to resolve possible protests or objections to the petition.

The initiative petition in Oklahoma is part of a national effort from First Class Education.

Sullivan said about 58 percent of Oklahoma's education tax money reaches the classroom. That ranks 46th nationally.

Only eight of the state's 539 school districts are spending at least 65 percent of their budgets on classroom expenses, he said.

Increasing the amount to 65 percent would mean an additional $270 million for Oklahoma classrooms, teachers and students without a tax increase, Sullivan said.

The petition states teacher salaries, supplies, special education programs, computers, libraries and librarians, field trips, athletics and art as well as extracurricular activities would be considered classroom expenses.

Classroom expenses would not include transportation, cafeteria, utility, maintenance and administrative costs. Nursing and counseling services also are not included.

"It's a sham, it's a political ploy," said Keith Ballard, executive director of the Oklahoma State School Boards Association. "There's no way in Oklahoma that we can achieve 65 percent without cutting very important services to kids."

The proposal is deceptive in that it implies the savings would be achieved by cutting administrative costs, he said. State law already puts a 10 percent limit on administrative costs.

Sullivan said the proposal would not take away local control from school boards.

Sullivan, a Tulsa oilman who is a Republican candidate for governor, denied he became involved with the issue to gain publicity for his gubernatorial bid.

Sullivan donated $50,000 to the national First Class Education organization. He said he made a commitment to raise about $500,000 to place the proposal on the ballot. He raised about $650,000, with the national organization kicking in $100,000 for a total of about $750,000.