Oklahoma Gov. Stitt proposes $130M school voucher program. Will rural opposition sink it again?

After an unsuccessful push last year, Gov. Kevin Stitt has once again voiced support for expanding school vouchers in Oklahoma with a $130 million proposal in his State of the State address, but it remains unclear whether rural opposition is still an obstacle for the policy in the state Legislature.

Opposition from Democrats and rural Republicans killed a similar $128.5 million voucher bill last year, despite the governor’s endorsement of it at the beginning of the 2022 legislative session.

“The House will continue to make sure any education policy passed works well in all parts of our state,” House Speaker Charles McCall said in a statement Monday.

McCall, R-Atoka, didn't reject the idea after Stitt's speech, but he hinted at past concerns that vouchers create a "geographical issue."

Last year, McCall said his chamber wouldn't give a hearing to a voucher bill because it would do little to help rural students. Most of Oklahoma's private schools are located in the Tulsa and Oklahoma City metro areas, even though the state as a whole would pay for voucher legislation.

The speaker responded to Stitt’s speech Monday by touting existing school choice policies, such as the 2021 open transfer law, private-school scholarship tax credits and increases to public-school funding.

House Democrats will "stand firm against" voucher bills, Rep. Melissa Provenzano said in a news conference responding to the State of the State. The Tulsa Democrat contended vouchers are more likely to benefit current private school students and put public school funding in jeopardy.

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"Every Oklahoma kid deserves a fair shot at life and a good education," Provenzano said. "The governor's plan doesn't deliver that fair shot."

Stitt's proposal would add $130 million to the state's schools budget to create education savings accounts, a term often interchangeable with vouchers.

“Other states like Iowa and Virginia and Florida and New Hampshire have already figured it out,” Stitt said in his remarks. “Providing more options for students leads to better outcomes. Oklahoma cannot afford to be left behind.”

Two Republican lawmakers — Sen. Julie Daniels, of Bartlesville, and Shawnee Sen. Shane Jett — have filed bills that would establish education savings accounts that families could use to send their children to non-public schools.

The governor said voters signaled support for more school options when they reelected him in November. His secretary of education, Ryan Walters, also won with a pro-school-choice platform when Oklahomans chose him to be state schools superintendent.

Stitt suggested increasing K-12 education funding by a total of $382.6 million, which would encompass education savings accounts and other priorities.

Both the new state schools superintendent and the governor are advocating for performance-based pay raises for public-school teachers.

But, while Walters encouraged lawmakers to put $150 million toward merit raises, Stitt proposed Oklahoma spend $50 million. Neither offered support for increasing all public school teachers' salaries.

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Education budget committee leaders in both chambers of the Legislature, Rep. Mark McBride and Sen. Adam Pugh, said they support an across-the-board raise to all teachers' base pay.

"If you’ve got a classroom of troubled youth, how do you compare that to the classroom over here where the teacher’s got all the A and B students?" McBride, R-Moore, said last week. "It’s just almost impossible to me to evaluate that.”

Pugh, R-Edmond, filed a bill for a $3,000 teacher salary increase and a $6,000 raise for educators who worked in the classroom for 15 years or more.

Walters said teachers should earn raises if they spend 15 to 25 hours in professional development and score highly on annual Teacher & Leader Effectiveness evaluations, which don't typically take student test scores into account.

Stitt and Walters both backed a $100 million reading initiative, but lawmaker support for it could be shaky because of Walters’ ties to a pandemic aid program that reportedly had misspent funds. Walters helped create and administer the program, which used federal funds to set up families with $1,500 accounts to spend on educational needs.

“I would prefer to line item the whole budget so the Legislature and the people knew exactly where every dollar went,” McBride said. “Just giving $100 million to some kind of education thing you’ve got in your head? No.”

Stitt suggested spending another $100 million to create new schools “focused on innovation, unlocking student potential” and addressing workforce needs, according to his proposed budget.

He cited Norman Public Schools’ aviation academy as an example of an innovative program, but it was unclear whether all of the funding would funnel to traditional school districts or if it also would support charter schools and higher education.

The governor challenged the state’s largest colleges, the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University, to “deliver a quality education to 40,000 students by 2030.”

About 28,000 students attend OU. OSU reported more than 25,300 students in fall 2022 and plans to reach a 5,000-person freshman class by 2026. Stitt's budget included $500,000 to boost concurrent college enrollment for high school freshmen and sophomores.

The governor also joined Walters in advocating for less university spending on diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

A recent report found higher education institutions will spend $10.2 million this year on these initiatives, which Walters labeled the "gateway for indoctrination."

Colleges said they spent the funds on mentorship programs, multicultural events, and supporting and recruiting students from underrepresented groups, among other goals.

“I am deeply concerned at the incomplete nature, excuses, and where these dollars are being spent,” Walters said on Thursday.

Reporter Nuria Martinez-Keel covers K-12 and higher education throughout the state of Oklahoma. Have a story idea for Nuria? She can be reached at nmartinez-keel@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @NuriaMKeel. Support Nuria’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt renews push for expanding school vouchers