Behind the 'grassroots' movement for Oklahoma school vouchers championed by Ryan Walters

When a group of pro-school voucher lobbyists and political operatives met in November, ideas were floated on how to make their effort appear more “grassroots.”

Getting parents of children with dyslexia and Down syndrome to promote school vouchers could be a compelling story, some suggested.

“Decoding Dyslexia is not a friendly organization but specific dyslexic parents are," one person said, according to notes from the meeting.

A few weeks later, the group discussed potential taglines lawmakers could use in an effort to turn the attention away from the fact that private schools stood to benefit financially. School vouchers “put parents in charge" was promising, the group thought.

And during a meeting last month, a detailed timeline was finalized on how to drum up social media support after the governor’s upcoming State of the State address, which is expected to include a call for a school voucher program.

Over the last several months, a group calling itself the “Oklahoma Education Reform Coalition” has held an out-of-state planning retreat, along with monthly meetings, developed a detailed communications strategy, and worked to gain support among various parent support groups, all in the hopes of getting lawmakers to allow private schools to receive tax dollars, according to dozens of emails, meeting notes and presentation slides obtained by The Oklahoman.

Coordinating the effort is Saxum, an Oklahoma City-based public relations firm with multiple state contracts; Every Kid Counts Oklahoma, a nonprofit recently managed by state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters; and the Walton Family Foundation, a pro-school choice organization funded by the founding family of Walmart.

Attending meetings and included on strategy email chains are representatives from the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, Americans for Prosperity, The Heritage Foundation, Yes. Every Kid, and the American Federation for Children, all conservative political organizations that promote school voucher policies and lobby at the state Capitol.

School vouchers, also called education savings accounts, let families take the tax dollars allocated for their child in the public education system and use them for private school tuition.

At least two bills have been filed this year seeking to create a school voucher program.

More:Two new voucher bills would let Oklahoma money go to private schools, home-schooling

Although its aim was to make support for school vouchers appear "grassroots," Saxum has been paid a large amount of money to coordinate the effort. The Oklahoman was shown a contract between Every Kid Counts Oklahoma and Saxum for $240,000 a year.

However, a Saxum official denied it has received any payment from Every Kid Counts Oklahoma.

"EKCO does not pay Saxum. They never have," Saxum Senior Vice President Jennifer Monies texted The Oklahoman on Thursday.

Monies said Saxum has a contract with the Walton Family Foundation directly.

Last year, The Frontier and Oklahoma Watch reported that much of Every Kid Counts Oklahoma's funding comes from the Walton Family Foundation and an education group founded by billionaire industrialist Charles Koch.

A representative of the Walton Family Foundation is included on coalition emails and listed on an internal directory of coalition members, according to documents obtained by The Oklahoman.

A spreadsheet created by Saxum and emailed to the coalition shows a detailed timeline for supporting pro-voucher bills this legislative session. The spreadsheet is titled “WFF ED Coalition Timeline,” which stands for Walton Family Foundation Education Coalition Timeline, according to a source who participated in the meetings.

School vouchers are a central part of Gov. Kevin Stitt's policy agenda this year, and his chief of staff, Brandon Tatum, was included in most of the coalition's email exchanges. Tatum also is listed as a member of the coalition in its internal directory.

However, when Saxum officials sent meeting notes or strategy plans to Tatum, they used his personal email address.

The governor's office said Tatum's involvement with the coalition predates his time as chief of staff.

But Tatum has not attended coalition meetings, responded to emails or participated in policy discussions since well before becoming chief of staff, a spokesperson for the governor's office said.

The governor's office also reiterated that Tatum does not use his personal email in an official capacity.

A Saxum official told The Oklahoman it did not determine who to include in the coalition or what email address to use.

None of the emails shared with The Oklahoman show Tatum responding, but multiple documents highlight strategic messaging to coincide with statements from the governor.

One document includes a schedule for a social media push around the governor's State of the State address on Monday, and coalition members were encouraged to share a quote from Stitt's inaugural address last month that called for education reforms.

"Whether you choose to use part of or the full quote, there are plenty of inspirational statements within it to share, leading into the legislative session," wrote Natalia Alanis, an account coordinator with Saxum.

Coalition hopes governor's reelection and new members put vouchers over the top

On Nov. 16, coalition members held a one-day “retreat” at the Sheraton hotel in Salt Lake City to discuss "policy priorities," according to a retreat agenda.

Many of the coalition members were already traveling to Salt Lake City for the national ExcelinEd conference, which was starting the next day.

During the ExcelinEd conference, Stitt participated in a panel discussion moderated by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who has been a leader in promoting school choice policies.

Did Stitt have a mandate for school vouchers following his reelection? Bush asked.

“We really do feel like we have a mandate because we campaigned on this,” Stitt answered.

Stitt sees vouchers as a way to help low-income students access better schools or ones that can better serve their needs.

Students from affluent households should not be the only ones with access to private education, the governor often says.

Stitt complained that teacher unions and Democrats were holding back his school choice efforts, including vouchers. But last year’s bill to create a voucher program was defeated by the Republican-controlled state Legislature.

Many rural lawmakers believe vouchers will siphon funding from their public schools, while others worry about the lack of transparency in letting private schools use taxpayer dollars.

Some Republicans who opposed last year's voucher bill faced an onslaught of negative ads during their reelection bids. Many of those ads and mailers were funded by members of the pro-school voucher coalition, including campaign groups with ties to the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs.

A voucher bill was narrowly defeated last year in the state Senate, but supporters hope a few new members will be enough to advance legislation this year.

Weeks after the November general election, education coalition members were trying to meet with "freshman Senators," according to meeting notes.

Since the November election, some of the most active lobbyists have been members of the education coalition, or lobbyists who work on behalf of coalition organizations.

Tom Newell, with Yes. Every Kid, and David Bond, with Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, are both included on coalition emails and have spent some of the most on lobbying expenditures over the last several weeks, according to state finance records.

Some officials worked for both the state and coalition organizations

Officials from Saxum said their work should not be viewed as lobbying.

"Saxum absolutely does not lobby," said Houda Elyazgi, Saxum's chief client officer. "We provide informational and communications materials to clients about issues they use to educate legislators."

Until last month, Monies, a Saxum senior vice president with Saxum, was a Stitt-appointed member of the state Board of Education, which is in charge of overseeing Oklahoma's public school system. She has been involved in helping her firm craft language in pro-voucher presentations and one-pagers to hand out to supporters.

Last month, Monies, who is also on the board of Every Kid Counts Oklahoma, made multiple edits to a presentation Saxum was creating in order to highlight its work for the nonprofit, according to a copy of the presentation shown to The Oklahoman.

Elyazgi said Saxum had no concerns with Monies working for Every Kid Counts Oklahoma and serving on the state Board of Education.

"Saxum actively encourages our leaders to be involved in the community through public service," Elyazgi said. "Jennifer has a deep expertise in education and she brings those skills to Saxum to the benefit of our clients. She served on the State Board of Education on a voluntary basis and in her personal capacity."

Monies said her work was helping to "modernize Oklahoma's education system."

"We have to work together to make sure every Oklahoma student gets a quality education," Monies told The Oklahoman. "I am proud of the work we have done and will continue to do to improve education in Oklahoma."

Walters, who was elected state schools superintendent last year, was executive director of Every Kid Counts Oklahoma.

He resigned from the nonprofit last month after criticism that remaining would be a conflict of interest while also working as state schools superintendent.

In October, while campaigning for state schools superintendent, Walters was planning coalition meetings and communicating with the various members.

"There are a lot of moving parts, but I think we have the opportunity for this upcoming session to be really impactful," Walters emailed on Oct. 13 in announcing plans for the retreat in Utah.

"There will be a lot of opportunities for robust conversation and to lay out plans for next year."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Emails show how PR firm orchestrated push for Oklahoma school vouchers