Call to overhaul county government in Oklahoma makes fiscal sense

Closer to home, a state investigation determined roughly three-fourths of seniors at Douglass High School don't have the credits required to graduate on time. Oklahoma City administrators and school board members were asleep at the wheel, at best, to have allowed that to happen.

Without active citizen participation, local government can quickly become out-of-control government. The desire to keep power close to home is understandable, but incompetence and corruption don't become acceptable simply because they're locally administered. Government must be both cost-efficient and accountable.

Those who prefer local control must make the case for it not only by defending it in the abstract, but also in practice — by participating in local elections, attending local government meetings, and holding those in power responsible for their actions.

The Oklahoma Academy's call to overhaul county government makes financial sense. Only citizens' active involvement in local affairs can justify maintaining the system.