Rhonda Baker, a key education figure in the Oklahoma House, won't seek reelection

Rep. Rhonda Baker, a key figure in Oklahoma education as chair of the state House of Representatives’ Education Committee, has announced she doesn’t plan to seek reelection this year.

The 55-year-old Baker, R-Yukon, could serve two more two-year terms under Oklahoma’s term-limits law that allows legislators to serve for 12 years. A former classroom teacher, she’s served as the education committee chair since 2016, when she began her first term in the House. She was elected after her predecessor from House District 60, Dan Fisher, also left the House before being term-limited.

In 2016, she beat her Democratic challenger easily, receiving 67.4% of the vote. In 2018, 2020 and 2022, she retained her seat with no Democratic opponent on the general election ballot, but in 2022, she had to survive a tight Republican primary race, winning with 50.8% of the vote against challenger Ron Lynch.

"It has been an extraordinary honor to serve the people of House District 60 for the past eight years," Baker said in a statement. "I have been blessed to work with some of the most dedicated and talented leaders in the communities in my district and across Oklahoma. I have seen firsthand the challenges facing our state, and yet I remain optimistic that determined and capable Oklahomans will take the opportunities afforded them to make our state the best it can be.

"I recognize there is still much to be done, and I promise to continue advancing the cause of public education throughout my life.”

In recent years, Baker has worked closely with Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore — who chairs the House Appropriations and Budget Education Subcommittee — on education-related legislation, including bills that helped provide Oklahoma teachers with pay raises.

More: The mediator and the wonks: How an elusive education deal happened in the Oklahoma Legislature

She proposed a bill that became law in 2020 that attempted to address inequities between urban and rural school districts in the number of Advanced Placement classes offered.

This past December, she joined McBride and House Speaker Charles McCall in signing a rare legislative subpoena sent to state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters. The subpoena ordered Walters to hand over information about operations within the Oklahoma State Department of Education that legislators had been requesting for months. Walters complied with the subpoena.

“Rep. Baker has been devoted to making education better in Oklahoma from the time she was elected,” McBride said. “Over her eight years in office, we have worked together on numerous issues (including) the largest appropriation increases in state history to public education. It will be hard for anyone to fill her shoes. She has become much more than a colleague — she’s one of my dearest friends.”

In addition to her work on the education committee, Baker also has served on the education budget subcommittee and on the House Higher Education and CareerTech Committee. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education presented Baker with that agency’s Distinguished Service Award for her work on the Concurrent Education Task Force.

Rhonda Baker also serves with a number of extra legislative groups

Outside the Legislature, Baker serves as chairwoman of the education committee of the Southern Legislative Conference and vice chair of the Southern Regional Education Board's advisory council. In 2023, she was appointed as a fellow for the Hunt-Kean Leadership Institute, an intense leadership training program for government and business leaders nationwide.

Baker was one of 11 legislators chosen within the southern region of the United States to attend the Center for the Advancement of Leadership Skills and one of two legislators chosen as Early Learning Fellows from the National Conference of State Legislators. She also serves as a commissioner on the Commission of the Status of Women.

Baker said her proudest legislative accomplishments include negotiating the education appropriations increases “while also advocating for more school choice than at any time in Oklahoma's history.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Key Oklahoma education figure Rep. Rhonda Baker won't seek reelection