OKLAHOMA CITY — As Gov. Kevin Stitt renews his push for universal school vouchers, Republican lawmakers remain at a stalemate on the controversial issue.
Although school choice proponents say the political dynamics have changed at the Capitol since last year, many GOP lawmakers still fiercely oppose allowing taxpayer dollars to go toward a child’s private or home school education through school vouchers.
But vouchers won’t be the only policy option on the table this year.
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House Republicans are expected to unveil an education plan that would expand school choice options in Oklahoma without vouchers.
Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore, said the details are still being worked out, but once the plan is complete, House Republicans are unlikely to support other school choice proposals.
“This is our deal. This is the only deal,” he said.
House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, recently reiterated his opposition to school vouchers. Early on in last year’s legislative session, McCall insisted his chamber wouldn’t hear a controversial voucher bill introduced in the upper chamber.
After previously expressing concerns that vouchers could hurt rural districts, McCall said Thursday the House remains uninterested in hearing bills similar to the Oklahoma Empowerment Act, a universal voucher bill that failed in the Senate last year.
“The House is very pro-education,” McCall said. “We are always exploring and working on policies that would increase parental choice. … But we’re looking for a policy that’s going to work everywhere.”
Stitt, Walters push school choice
Stitt wants to set aside $130 million this year for education savings accounts, also known as school vouchers. The governor and State Superintendent Ryan Walters campaigned on expanding school choice in Oklahoma.
Walters has said he wants to implement the most expansive school choice program in the nation. Allowing taxpayer dollars to follow the student to whatever school they choose is key, he said.
“Every single child in the state of Oklahoma should have every option available to them,” Walters said in an interview. “That’s public school options. That’s private school options. That’s homeschooling and public charters.
“It has to be the ability for a mom and dad to make a decision, and for all of the money that is paid in for their child’s education to follow them with that decision.”
Walters said vouchers aren’t the only way to ensure taxpayer dollars follow the student. There can be different mechanisms to make that happen, he said.
But he opposes any carve outs based on geography or other factors. In other words, he envisions a school choice program that affords all students the same opportunities.
Rep. Rhonda Baker, chairwoman of the House Common Education Committee, expressed concerns that vouchers don’t allow for financial oversight of taxpayer dollars.
Oklahoma’s state auditor and inspector has said giving taxpayer dollars to a private entity opens the door for corruption, Baker said.
“When you have got public dollars going to a private entity, there is such a problem with transparency,” Baker said. “We have to answer to our taxpayers. You can’t answer to the taxpayers when you’re giving public dollars to a private entity and you don’t know exactly how that’s being spent.”
A mandate from voters?
Sen. Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville, expressed confidence that legislative support for school vouchers has grown in the past year.
Daniels introduced legislation this year that would allow parents to create an account for their child with the State Treasurer’s Office to receive funds equal to what a public school district would receive to educate that student. Parents could then use that money to homeschool their child or send them to a private school.
To offset the cost of the vouchers, Daniels proposes appropriating an additional $275 million to the state funding formula.
She rejected the notion that vouchers aren’t transparent. Her Senate Bill 822 requires 10% of all Education Freedom Accounts to be audited each year. The state would shut down any accounts with misspent funds, she said.
More than ever before, parents are demanding more options to get their children the best education possible, Daniels said.
In the November election, Oklahoma voters last year delivered a mandate on school choice that’s likely to sway legislators, she said.
“The margins of victory for both the governor and the superintendent of education who ran on strong school choice platforms and won handily, I think, sent a signal to the Legislature that it really is time to address this issue in a serious and substantive way,” Daniels said.
Stitt made similar comments in his State of the State speech, saying “parents spoke loud and clear at the ballot box.”
November’s election didn’t change Republican Sen. Dewayne Pemberton’s mind on school vouchers. The former public school teacher, coach and principal from Muskogee said he still opposes vouchers because they would take hundreds of millions of dollars away from public schools.
But with eight new Republican senators in the chamber, Pemberton thinks voucher proponents will have enough votes to send a bill to the House this year.
“If we voted today, I would say it would probably pass,” he said.
But Pemberton said he has faith that the House will reject any voucher proposals.
He also pushed back on the notion that voters issued a mandate on school choice.
“The election of the governor and (Superintendent) Walters had nothing to do with vouchers,” Pemberton said. “It was strictly about the red wave and straight-ticket Republican voting. So, when they jump up and say they have a mandate, that’s not true.”
Ginnie Graham talks with Bixby Superintendent Rob Miller about the state legislature potentially using merit pay raises for public school teachers, and why he feels the idea does not work.
Tulsa-area state legislators and how to contact them
Sen. Nathan Dahm
DISTRICT 33
Sen. Nathan Dahm (R)
Hometown: Broken Arrow
District area: South and east Tulsa County
Phone: 405-521-5551
Sen. Dana Prieto

DISTRICT 34
Sen. Dana Prieto (R)
Hometown: Tulsa
District area: Owasso and northern Tulsa County
Phone: 405-521-5566
Email Sen. Prieto
Sen. Jo Anna Dossett

DISTRICT 35
Sen. Jo Anna Dossett (D)
Hometown: Tulsa
District area: South and central Tulsa
Phone: 405-521-5624
Sen. John Haste

DISTRICT 36
Sen. John Haste (R)
Hometown: Broken Arrow
District area: Eastern Tulsa County, western Wagoner County
Phone: 405-521-5602
Email Sen. Haste
Sen. Todd Gollihare

DISTRICT 12
Sen. Todd Gollihare (R)
Hometown: Kellyville
District area: Creek County
Phone: 405-521-5528
Sen. Kevin Matthews

DISTRICT 11
Sen. Kevin Matthews (D)
Hometown: Tulsa
District area: Northern Tulsa, southeast Osage County
Phone: 405-521-5598
Sen. Joe Newhouse

DISTRICT 25
Sen. Joe Newhouse (R)
Hometown: Broken Arrow
District area: South Tulsa, Bixby, Broken Arrow and Jenks
Phone: 405-521-5675
Sen. Dave Rader

DISTRICT 39
Sen. Dave Rader (R)
Hometown: Tulsa
District area: Central and south Tulsa
Phone: 405-521-5620
Sen. Cody Rogers

DISTRICT 37
Sen. Cody Rogers (R)
Hometown: Tulsa
District Area: West Tulsa County
Phone: 405-521-5600
Rep. Meloyde Blancett

DISTRICT 78
Rep. Meloyde Blancett (D)
Hometown: Tulsa
District area: Midtown Tulsa
Phone: 405-557-7334
Rep. Jeff Boatman

DISTRICT 67
Rep. Jeff Boatman (R)
Hometown: Tulsa
District area: Southeast Tulsa
Phone: 405-557-7341
Rep. Amanda Swope

DISTRICT 71
Rep. Amanda Swope (D)
Hometown: Tulsa
District area: Brookside in Tulsa
Phone: 405-557-7361
Rep. Suzanne Schreiber

DISTRICT 70
Rep. Suzanne Schreiber (D)
Hometown: Tulsa
District area: Midtown Tulsa
Phone: 405-557-7359
Email Rep. Schreiber
Rep. Dean Davis

DISTRICT 98
Rep. Dean Davis (R)
Hometown: Broken Arrow
District area: Elm Place in east Broken Arrow, east to 248th East Avenue
Phone: 405-557-7362
Rep. Mark Tedford

DISTRICT 69
Rep. Mark Tedford (R)
Hometown: Tulsa
District area: Jenks, Bixby and Tulsa between those cities
Phone: 405-557-7331
Rep. Scott Fetgatter

DISTRICT 16
Rep. Scott Fetgatter (R)
Hometown: Okmulgee
District area: Okmulgee County and the southeastern tip of Tulsa County
Phone: 405-557-7373
Rep. Ross Ford

DISTRICT 76
Rep. Ross Ford (R)
Hometown: Broken Arrow
District area: West Broken Arrow
Phone: 405-557-7347
Rep. Regina Goodwin

DISTRICT 73
Rep. Regina Goodwin (D)
Hometown: Tulsa
District area: Downtown and northwest Tulsa
Phone: 405-557-7406
Rep. Kyle Hilbert

DISTRICT 29
Rep. Kyle Hilbert (R)
Hometown: Depew
District area: Westernmost Tulsa County, Creek County
Phone: 405-557-7353
Rep. Mark Lawson

DISTRICT 30
Rep. Mark Lawson (R)
Hometown: Sapulpa
District area: Sapulpa, Mounds, southwest Tulsa County
Phone: 405- 557-7414
Rep. T.J. Marti

DISTRICT 75
Rep. T.J. Marti (R)
Hometown: Tulsa
District area: East Tulsa
Phone: 405-557-7356
Rep. Stan May

DISTRICT 80
Rep. Stan May (R)
Hometown: Broken Arrow
District area: Southeast Tulsa County; small section of southwest Wagoner County
Phone: 405-557-7338
Rep. Monroe Nichols

DISTRICT 72
Rep. Monroe Nichols (D)
Hometown: Tulsa
District area: Southeast corner of Inner Dispersal Loop to Owasso; also includes Turley and Sperry
Phone: 405-557-7391
Rep. Clay Staires

DISTRICT 66
Rep. Clay Staires (R)
Hometown: Skiatook
District area: Sand Springs, west Tulsa between Arkansas River and Osage County line and Riverview
Phone: 405-557-7390
Rep. Terry O’Donnell

DISTRICT 23
Rep. Terry O’Donnell (R)
Hometown: Catoosa
District area: Catoosa, east Tulsa
Phone: 405-557-7379
Rep. Melissa Provenzano

DISTRICT 79
Rep. Melissa Provenzano (D)
Hometown: Tulsa
District area: East and southeast Tulsa
Phone: 405-557-7330
Rep. Lonnie Sims

DISTRICT 68
Rep. Lonnie Sims (R)
Hometown: Tulsa
District area: West Tulsa County from the bend of Arkansas River down to Glenpool
Phone: 405-557-7340
Rep. John Kane

DISTRICT 11
Rep. John Kane (R)
Hometown: Bartlesville
District area: Bartlesville, north Tulsa County including Collinsville
Phone: 405-557-7358
Rep. Mark Vancuren

DISTRICT 74
Rep. Mark Vancuren (R)
Hometown: Owasso
District area: Suburban Owasso
Phone: 405-557-7377
Rep. John Waldron

DISTRICT 77
Rep. John Waldron (D)
Hometown: Tulsa
District area: Northeast Tulsa
Phone: 405-557-7410
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