Oklahoma LOFT Report Recommends Changing Who Appoints the State Board of Education Among Other Key Findings

By Dr. Pam Deering, CCOSA/OASA Executive Director and Dr. Jeanene Barnett, Education Policy & Research Analyst & TLE Coordinator

A new report (July, 2022) from the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency Oversight (LOFT) Committee on the distribution of state funds for K-12 public education included four key findings and seven policy considerations.

Key Finding #1

Oklahoma’s funding formula has been identified as one of the most equitable in the nation, given an A- rating by EdWeek’s 2021 Quality Counts report. EdBuild, a group hired to study the formula and give suggestions in an interim study a few years ago (IS-2020-38), stated that in general, Oklahoma has “a very good formula that is clear, fair, and based on needs of students.” At that time, EdBuild recommended that the bilingual identification be replaced with “Englishlanguage learner” to better direct funds where they were actually needed. This is one of the same recommendations being made by LOFT.

At issue, in making the change, is that there will be winners and losers in the formula. If the legislature does choose to make a shift, it would be preferable/ advisable that they put additional money into the formula to lessen the financial blow to those districts that would lose money under the new definition. So, while the formula is one of the nationa's oldest, it remains one of the nation's most equitable. It may need a few tweaks to be updated to meet current student needs but doesn’t need a major overhaul.

Key Finding #2

Key Finding #2 identifies what we believe is a false premise. It is true that Oklahoma Common Education has received increased investments since 2010. However, over that same time period, the entire Oklahoma budget has increased from $6.9 billion to approximately $10 billion. So, it stands to reason that Common Education is receiving more money than it ever has before. The true question, though, is how does this increase stand up to inflation. LOFT reports, “When adjusting for inflation, State funding per pupil has declined by two percent [since 2010]” (p. A9).

STATE FUNDING PER PUPIL COMPARISON

A more precise way of looking at Common Education funding over time may be to consider what percentage of the overall state budget has consistently been appropriated to Common Education. The following chart notes the variation since FY2014.

COMMON EDUCATION

Key Finding #3

Under Key Finding #3, the LOFT Report points to the need to amend the composition and appointment process for State Board of Education members to allow the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to appoint members (§70-3-101). This change could bring a balance of power (checks and balances) and more diverse representation of Oklahoma schools and their communities to the State Board. Currently, the Governor appoints all of the State Board. The Board members come from the five Congressional districts as is required by law, but all Board members reside in urban/suburban areas of the state. Thus, rural schools really have no representation on the Board. Additionally, besides Superintendent Joy Hofmeister, only one Board member, Carlisha Williams-Bradley, has any experience working in the educational field.

The current requirements that apply to the composition of the state board are as follows: Excluding the State Superintendent, there must be at least one member representing each congressional district of the State. Any remaining members are appointed from the state at large, provided that only one member may represent any given county, city or town.

The current Board membership includes:

■ Superintendent Joy Hofmeister, Chair of the Board

■ Carlisha Williams Bradley of Tulsa; represents Congressional District 1

■ Sarah Lepak of Claremore; represents Congressional District 2

■ Trent Smith of Yukon; represents Congressional District 3

■ Brian Bobek of Oklahoma City; represents Congressional District 4

■ Jennifer Monies of Oklahoma City; represents Congressional District 5

■ Estela Hernandez of Oklahoma City; at-large

Key Finding #4

You can read the OSDE response to this key finding at the end of the LOFT report found here: http://www2.okloft.gov/Reports/ PublicEducationFunding_Report.pdf

LOFT’s History and Purpose

In 2019, LOFT was created by legislation authored by House Speaker Charles McCall and Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat. LOFT was created to serve as an independent office to provide the Legislature and the public with objective data on agency budgets and programs. LOFT is overseen by bipartisan committee of Senate and House members. The Senate president pro tem and the House speaker each name a co-chair and the members of the oversight committee.

Current Co-Chairs are Senator Roger Thompson, R-Okemah and Representative Kevin Wallace, R-Wellston. Current members include: Senator Michael Brooks, D-OKC, Senator Kim David, R-Porter, Representative Meloyde Blancett, D-Tulsa, Representative Jeff Boatman, R-Tulsa, Senator Chuck Hall, R-Perry, Senator Julia Kirt, D-OKC, Representative Jon Echols, R-OKC, Representative Ryan Martinez, R-Edmond, Senator Dwayne Pemberton, R-Muskogee, Senator Frank Simpson, R-Springer, Representative Cyndi Munson, D-OKC, and Representative Mike Osburn, R-Edmond.

Source: Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (2022, July). Priority Program Evaluation: Distribution of state funds for k-12 public http://www2.okloft. gov/Reports/PublicEducationFunding_Report.pdf