Oklahoma’s education meeting campouts are becoming a problem. Here's one solution
Long after dark, there was an air of festivity and fun outside the Oklahoma State Department of Education building despite temperatures hovering near freezing.
Someone had hooked up a portable heater, powering it by bootlegging power from the state building. Someone else had commandeered another outlet to operate a movie projector and was using the building’s wall as a makeshift movie screen to project “Mean Girls.”
As 11 p.m. approached, a woman was enthusiastically live streaming her experiences and thoughts.
Over a dozen people — all who oppose state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters’ policies — were already lined up ahead of the State Board of Education meeting set to begin nearly 14 hours later.
But there was also an air of uncertainty and fear as word spread that the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety was considering booting — or even arresting — people waiting in line.
A DPS security official had already tied the doors shut for the first time in recent memory using an extension cord and zip ties, and someone had hung a sign in the window with a specific provision of state law highlighted in yellow that noted the area was closed from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.
People were confused because it would have marked the first time in at least a year that DPS had decided to enforce a law ahead of the meeting that prohibits unauthorized people in the park after hours.
A public park. At the people’s state Capitol complex.
Thankfully, common sense prevailed and 11 p.m. came and went with troopers leaving people be.
Because had they arrested people peacefully waiting in line for a public meeting, it would have been a black eye for all Oklahomans, made us a national laughing stock and raised serious questions about the state of our democracy.
But DPS is right to be concerned about security issues, and there’s a reason laws exist that prohibit people from the complex afterhours. And there’s also a reason why it’s a bad idea to start arbitrarily enforcing provisions about who gets to stay in the park after hours.
We’ve reached a point where it’s time to rethink how these meetings are being handled.
For close to a year now, people have been camping out ahead of these meetings. At first, it was to secure a seat in the board meeting.
And that’s still part of the issue, but now, Walters’ supporters and detractors are engaged in some bizarre competition to wrap up all 10 public speaking slots.
The State Board of Education awards the speaking slots to the first 10 people who sign up as the meeting is preparing to begin. So now, each month, people are lining up earlier and earlier, setting up chairs and making a night of it in an effort to outdo each other. This month, they began lining up at 4 p.m. Wednesday for a 1 p.m. meeting Thursday.
One thing that’s uniting Walters’ supporters and detractors unlike anything else is frustration over people with extremely similar viewpoints rigging the system so that they get access to all the speaking slots.
I also spoke with someone in the crowd who questioned whether the current overnight process violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, which provides federal protections for those with disabilities.
One person mentioned they suffered from the sleep disorder narcolepsy, and said waiting in line for one night means a string of bad days afterward.
One woman had to take a day off from work. She also had to secure overnight child care.
Another left her daughter’s home in Checotah at 3 a.m. By the time she arrived at 5 a.m., all speaking slots were taken.
The current sign up process locks out the voices of people who have a vested interest in our public schools, but don’t have the time or luxury of sleeping outside all night.
It locks out people who live in rural parts of the state, parents with school-age children, those who have a job, people with disabilities and those who work night shifts.
They have just as much right to speak their truth as everyone else.
It’s time for Walters’ team to rethink how they’re handling this public comment section.
The resulting clown show is not healthy for anyone.
And, the solution is not to add more slots. The board already allots 21 minutes to people who want to speak to matters on the agenda and nine minutes for those who want to speak on random issues.
Thirty minutes seems like plenty of time, particularly when there are other pressing issues already on the agenda that need to be considered.
The best idea, I heard outside the meeting, was to implement a raffle-type system. Everyone who is waiting 15 minutes before and wants to speak gets a number. State education officials then randomly draw 10 numbers, determining the speakers.
A similar raffle could also be held if the number of people wanting to attend the meeting unfortunately exceeds the available space, though a better long-term solution is to move the meeting location to a large venue.
That would eliminate the ridiculous need to spend the night and the one-upmanship that’s currently going on. It would also solve the security problems.
The suggestion actually generated considerable enthusiasm by people on all sides of the political spectrum who didn’t have the luxury of camping out. Even some of those who were camping out were also supportive.
Such a change would guarantee that everyone has an equal chance to speak and perhaps diversify the voices that the state board hears from each month.
Because, right now, Oklahomans are understandably concerned about the future of our education system. And, everyone deserves the right to participate in government and to address their leaders regardless of economic status, disability, life circumstances or political belief.
Janelle Stecklein is editor of Oklahoma Voice. An award-winning journalist, Stecklein has been covering Oklahoma government and politics since moving to the state in 2014.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Camping out at OSDE not the answer for concerned Oklahomans
