State Supt. Comments On Education Plans, House And Senate Call For Action

As the Senate and House work to come to a compromise on an education plan, State Superintendent Ryan Walters has called to be part of these negotiations, wanting to have the conversations in public.

This comes after Walters came to the Capitol Monday and made quite an uproar in the House, calling teachers union terrorists, and getting criticized for continued campaign rhetoric.

“It's theater, it's all pure theater,” said House Speaker Charles McCall.

“They're putting politics over policy,” said Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat.

State Superintendent Walters released a message today, saying in part: “The Oklahoma Legislature continues to lead the effort in bringing school choice to each and every parent and student in Oklahoma. Parents across the state are sick and tired of being last in the country in education. It’s time for bold leadership and bold action.”

It went on to say, “Today, I am calling for a public hearing with Speaker McCall, Pro Tem Treat, Governor Stitt and myself. Together, we will ensure that no matter what a child’s zip code is, school choice will be in the hands of each and every parent throughout our great state.”

Having public negotiations is something Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat has been calling for over the last few months of education disagreements.

“I plan on being at the state department of education tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. to have a conversation in public so everyone knows exactly what the sticking points are,” said Treat.

Walters' staff said he will be at the department if any of the three want to meet, but the governor and Speaker McCall say they won’t be attending.

“We've been negotiating for months, and we've been at the table, and we have compromised, it's time to move things forward.”

The governor’s office tells us that Governor Stitt is in D.C. tomorrow, for the SelectUSA conference.

The governor’s communications director, Carly Atchison, said in a statement: “Two weeks ago Governor Stitt presented a compromise package, the Oklahoma Education and Parental Choice Plan, which the House took up and passed.”

“The governor’s top priority of the plan, the Parental Choice Tax Credit Act which gives school choice to parents across the state, passed through both chambers which is a major victory and great progress in the right direction. The next step is for the Senate to pass the rest of Governor Stitt’s compromise plan and get it to his desk to sign into law,” said Atchison

House Speaker Charles McCall said they passed the Senate’s tax credit bill, and it’s now up to the Senate to pass a public funding plan to benefit rural schools. McCall also criticized the Senate for not hearing the governor’s plan or the House's plan on the floor.

“Either pass the governor's plan or come to the table with a plan that makes sense for every school district in the state,” said McCall.

The tax credit bill is being held in the House by Speaker McCall until the Senate passes a public-school funding plan. 

“The best thing you can do for rural schools is invest in rural teachers, we have done that in a resounding fashion,” said Treat.

The House also rejected the Senate’s teacher pay raise bill, saying it’s underfunded by hundreds of millions of dollars.

“The plan’s not paid for, the last thing we're ever going to do is cut public education,” said McCall.

A fiscal analysis from the state department of education says the money for teacher pay raises in the Senate's plan would actually cost districts at least $350 million. Treat said that’s not the case. 

“We articulated very clearly on the floor that the $500 million would go towards teacher pay, it would go to the formula; and we would need to appropriate special cash to actually fund the one-time stipend,” said Treat.

Treat went on to say their plan is to pass other bills that would cover the leftover money needed to pass the teacher stipend.

After three months with no compromise, and no education priorities signed into law, each chamber is now calling on the other to take action.

“I'm hoping they will get serious about it but so far they have not been serious about it,” said Treat.

“A lot of talk- no action. Time to take some action, we're ready,” said McCall.

While Treat said he will be at the State Department of Education tomorrow at 2:00, it’s unclear whether the meeting will actually happen, and who will attend.