Over the opposition of Joy Hofmeister, the state superintendent, the Oklahoma State Board of Education voted 4-3 to allow charter schools to have a share in property taxes and motor vehicle taxes that previously were reserved for public schools.
A groundbreaking settlement will fundamentally change the way charter schools are funded in Oklahoma, despite vehement opposition from the state’s top education official.
The Oklahoma State Board of Education voted 4-3 on Thursday in favor of an agreement with the Oklahoma Public Charter School Association to settle a 2017 lawsuit.
The charter school association called the agreement a “tremendous step” for equality in school funding.
State schools Superintendent Joy Hofmeister said the settlement could violate state law and have “seismic” implications by redistributing school funding.
“Today’s board action circumvents the will of the people of Oklahoma and the state legislature by unilaterally determining how public education is to be funded,” Hofmeister said in a statement Thursday evening. “I fear this action knowingly violated Oklahoma statute and the Oklahoma Constitution.”
The original promise of charter schools when they started thirty years ago was that they would cost less than public schools because of their lack of bureaucracy. That pledge has long been forgotten as charters fight to have equal funding–or in some states, like Texas–more funding than public schools.
This decision will mean less money for Oklahoma’s underfunded public schools.
Joy Hofmeister is one of those rare state chiefs in a red state who puts public schools first.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Fools!!!! The people of Oklahoma should take the State Board of Education to court to have that ridiculous decision reversed. Oklahoma is going down the road to be another Mississippi with it comes to public education.
Well, then , Hofmeister maybe should start working on her resume? CBK
She was re-elected in 2018 and has two more years in her term. I hope she runs again.
Diane Glad to hear it about Hofmeister. Maybe by then (two years from now) things will have gotten better. Always the optimist, me. CBK
This is a power grab from the charter lobby. Florida has already enacted similar laws giving private charters the same standing as community public schools. In red states governors are overriding local control as they attempt to normalize the transfer of funds to private charters that are not really public schools. Charter schools do not have to abide by the same rules and regulations as public schools, and they are not accountable to local communities.
Republicans no longer believe in local control. Based on their efforts to shove charter schools on districts and their efforts to restrict voting, they don’t believe in democracy either. In Texas, the charter lobby has submitted legislation that denies local school boards or elected officials the authority to reject any charter school. They can locate wherever they wish, so long as they have the approval of the unelected state superintendent. It’s just business. No local control. No democracy. Just one official, appointed by the Governor.
Along with eliminating due process for school boards removed by the Texas Ed Commissioner. Commissioner Morath’s previous knowledge of the Texas Heist is about to catch up with him. skimming local tax funds off Title 1 campuses is illegal and unconstitutional.
If this is true, would the skimming be a federal offense, as these are federal dollars? Federal dollars should be used only for the intended purposes. Otherwise, the state should be required to pay it back.
Looks like the charter lobby wrote the article:
“Charter schools and virtual charter schools are public schools that have more freedom over their curricula and are subject to extra oversight. Families must choose to enroll in charter schools, unlike traditional school districts where students are automatically zoned.”
Pure nonsense. Charter schools are in no way “subject to extra oversight”. In fact, the opposite is true- the same charter lobby that works for more funding for charter schools (but never works on behalf of public schools) lobby for less and less regulation of the schools.
Charter lobbyists fight every effort to regulate the schools. It’s ideological- the entire ed reform echo chamber describe any regulation and oversight as “red tape” and work to gut it. The whole movement is ideologically committed to deregulation.
This was a loss for public schools. The extra funding for charters will come directly out of each public school student’s share.
But the ed reform lobby never does anything that benefits students in public schools- they work exclusively on behalf of charter and private school students.
If you want people who will work for public school students you shouldn’t hire ed reformers- they don’t provide any benefit at all to students in public schools.
Far from being “allies” in public education, they work against public school students and families.
Once again we see the exclusive focus of ed reform on charters and vouchers.
I don’t mind that they only productive work they perform goes to benefit the schools and students they prefer- charter and private schools students- I mind that they mislead the public into believing they support “public education” when they do nothing for students who attend public schools.
If you’re hiring these folks, go into it knowing your public schools and public school students will derive no benefit from employing them. They simply provide no benefit or upside to any public school student, anywhere. If the public is paying them, and in many states they are, the public should be aware of that.
Hire them only if your goal is to benefit to charter and private school students- if your goal is strong public schools look elsewhere for employees.
No words…at least ones fit to print. Long time Tulsa’s here and now a retired CA teacher. Breaks my heart
Never believe anyone who says this new “method” (whichever it might be) will save money. In my experience such changes end up costing more, not less. The administration is never reduced and often requires additional personnel. I have witnessed this process in various formats for various organizations half a dozen or more times, and I can assure you I speak from experience.
Missouri has a long history of this sort of thing. The 86 year old Peter Herschend—-who served many years on the state board of education, was brought back to the board after the confusion of republican governors made it possible to bring him back despite his devotion to a pornography peddler, who he now claims behaves like a boy scout. Two black members from St. Louis, named to the board by Jay Nixon are now gone.
Missouri has one of the most obscene republican legislatures in the nation, and a state school board to match. Herschend should be in jail for what he did in 2007-8 to disenfranchise St. Louis voters to make way for the charters, who now have 40% of the st. louis public schools’ students, and the results are not impressive.
The 2006 murder of former student Tim Bacon remains unsolved. After he had 12 bullets fired into him in 2006—the school board which the people had elected members unacceptable to Mayor Slay, order 20,000 dollars of protection for the president of the board, who had been helping Tim Bacon bring a lawsuit. Check with Peter Downs and Antonio French for details……charter corporations are nasty people. They have found it gets them what they want.
How the State Board Abruptly Settled Charter School Lawsuit Against Legal Advice
It should be noted that Bill Hickman is also the attorney for Epic Charter School. His wife Shelly Hickman is Assistant Superintendent of Communications at Epic.