Questions for candidates as OKCPS runoff begins
Stanley Hupfeld and Paula Lewis will square off in the OKCPS runoff election for chairperson on April 4. (NonDoc)
The top two candidates for the Oklahoma City Public Schools Chairperson were Elizabeth Warren and Betsy DeVos — or so it sometimes seemed based on what the voters asked about.
Seriously, it’s impossible to block national edu-politics out of local elections, and last year’s bitter fight over charter schools is fresh in everyone’s mind. As long as DeVos and President Donald Trump represent an existential threat to the principle of public education for all, voters must remain wary. I hope the OKCPS runoff election will feature a debate over our city’s individual candidates and our issues.
Not surprisingly, charter schools have been the campaign’s primary issue, even though the differences between the key candidates on that subject have been miniscule. The Oklahoma Gazette’s Laura Eastes reviewed the candidates’ positions. From her report:
“Charters are not the answer,” said [Stanley] Hupfeld, who supports the growth of enterprise schools within the district.Enterprise schools operate with their own school board and hold unique spending and staffing rights.
As I have explained, unionized enterprise schools can combine the best features of charters without their downsides.
Paula Lewis, who will face Hupfeld in the runoff election April 4, expresses similar views. Questions for candidates as OKCPS runoff begins - NonDoc:
