Uncertainty surrounding the State Board of Education’s 4-3 vote last week on a resolution stating that public charter schools should receive the same funding as traditional public schools can be summed up by Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister’s answers to a series of questions Tuesday afternoon.
Asked if she had signed the board’s resolution — which she voted against and that would become the basis for the Oklahoma Public Charter School Association dismissing a 2017 lawsuit — Hofmeister said she had not. When asked if she plans on signing the document, she said she did not know. When asked what the results would be if she does or does not sign the settlement, she was also unsure.
“That is something that, since it just came in and I voted ‘No,’ we’ll fully examine,” Hofmeister said moments after meeting with more than a dozen House Republicans about the situation Tuesday.
The controversial decision has pushed conversation about how charter schools should be funded to the forefront of the Oklahoma political landscape. The fiscal impact of the board’s resolution also remains undetermined as stakeholders weigh potential legal action and the Oklahoma Legislature crafts next year’s state budget ahead of the policy CONTINUE READING: 'It's a damn mess': Fiscal impact, future of charter school funding resolution unclear
