OKCPS Candidate Responds To Change In Residency Ahead Of Campaign For Board of Education

A candidate for the Oklahoma City Public Schools Board of Education responded to a report addressing her change of residency before filing for the election.  

Dr. Sharri Coleman filed as a candidate for the District 5 seat on the board on Dec. 8, 2021. Five days prior, she changed her registered address from one that was outside the district to a home inside its boundaries. The change in address was first reported by Nuria Martinez-Keel of the Oklahoman.  

Election paperwork and Coleman’s voter registration history show that on Dec. 3, the OU adjunct professor and former schoolteacher changed her registered address to a home on NE 18th St.  

Neighbors of the home told News 9 that no one has lived in the NE 18th St. home for months. One neighbor said they knew of Coleman, and that she did not live there.  

Prior to the change, Coleman’s address was outside the District 5 boundary. State law requires school board candidates to live within the boundary of the district for six months before filing as a candidate.  

Coleman addressed the report in her opening statement of a forum hosted by the Urban League of Greater Oklahoma City. Her opponent, Adrian Anderson, did not comment on the report during the forum.  

“I lived in the district and have lived in the district for years,” Coleman said. “Due to Pathway to Greatness, I was out of it temporarily. Pathway to greatness went into effect a couple of years ago, and I made the necessary steps that I needed to take to make sure that I was in compliance.”  

Coleman did not respond directly to News 9’s request for comment, which was sent Tuesday afternoon.  

“I announced my candidacy in November. I filed in December, started my campaign in January,” Coleman said. “Any questions that needed to be asked should have been asked back in December.”  

Voters will choose between Coleman and Anderson for the board seat next week in the April 5 election.