When Gov. Kevin Stitt’s most recent appointee to the State Board of Education, Trent Smith, successfully moved to approve a sweeping resolution about charter school funding at a March meeting in an effort to settle a 2017 lawsuit, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister called the move “unexpected.”
“This is a radical departure from following the law. Instead, it is really an outrageous step in creating law,” Hofmeister said, emphasizing that the Oklahoma Legislature is tasked with creating state statute regarding education policy. “That process has been stripped away and, instead, four Gov. Stitt appointees chose what they wanted and just did it.”
Hofmeister’s comments touched on a question that had been brewing for some time: Does the governor have too much influence in determining how State Board of Education members vote?
“We believe all appointed board members of state agencies should be acting in the best interest of Oklahomans,” said Alicia Priest, president of the Oklahoma Education CONTINUE READING: 'Where my beliefs are': Stitt hires, fires State Board of Education members