OKLAHOMA CITY — Each branch of Oklahoma’s Republican-controlled Legislature passed an education reform measure last week, saying the bills would improve the state’s public education system, buttress the idea of school choice and increase teacher pay.
The only problem is neither group works nor plays well with the other.
Last Thursday the state Senate signed off on a $630 million education funding plan that earmarks $284 million for teacher pay raises, provides $100 million in tax credits for families that send their children to private schools and establishes a tax credit for families that homeschool their children. The plan also provides $20 million for teacher pay bonuses and another $216 million in state school funding.
In the House of Representatives, a program touted by Speaker Charles McCall (R-Atoka) would earmark $800 million for education including money for teacher pay raises, $50 million to districts that get below-average funding from local property taxes, an increase of $300 million in state aid and $300 million in tax incentives for families who either homeschool or send their children to a private school.
Senate Pro Tempore Greg Treat, a Republican from Oklahoma City, said the Senate did its job and delivered for teachers, children and parents.
“Today is a great day for education in Oklahoma,” Treat said in a media statement issued shortly after the bills passed. “My Senate colleagues and I passed measures that, when signed into law, will make drastic improvements to public education, reward our teachers, empower parents to make the best choice for their kids and fund students, not systems.”
Earlier this month, McCall said the House would not hear any Senate education bills this year if the Senate attempted to amend the House’s $800 million education plan. McCall said amending the bills would sabotage the package.
A short time later Treat, the Senate’s leader, called McCall’s challenge asinine and said the Senate would not be bullied on policy issues.
Oklahoma’s Constitution requires that any legislation which is sent to the governor’s office for review must pass both Houses of the Legislature in the exact same form. The Senate’s action on Thursday could lead to a stalemate between both bodies.
While Treat and McCall have on previous occasions expressed frustration with each other, both men often work well together. Rep. Jon Echols, the House’s Majority Floor Leader told Southwest Ledger earlier this year the House’s big concern about any education reform bill boiled down to school choice. Any statewide school choice plan, he said, had to reflect the concerns of rural school districts.
“It’s (a school choice plan) going to have to apply to all schools but also take concerns of rural school superintendents into account,” Echols said in February. “I don’t think there is a path to pass a voucher inside the house.”
Daniel Seitz, a spokesman for McCall told the CNHI News Service that at least two Senate education bills would not advance in the House, though Seitz said McCall was open to negotiations.
“We believe the House plan framework is the only plan that will pass through the House,” Seitz said. He said McCall was looking for a plan that would work “in every corner of the state.”
Democrats, for their part, have continued to call for a bipartisan approach to school report “without entangling it with the contentious issue of private school vouchers.” House Democrats called on the GOP majority to pass a teacher pay bill that doesn’t include school voucher language.
“Oklahoma teachers face numerous challenges,” Rep. Trish Ranson (D-Stillwater) said. “My concern is that the Legislature’s egos and politics will hinder our bipartisan efforts to build and retain a robust teacher corps.”
She said the issue of pay increases for public schoolteachers has consistently received bipartisan support. “Let’s capitalize on this backing and make Oklahoma attractive to top-tier teachers within our state and beyond,” Ranson said.
With the legislative session well past the halfway point, lawmakers have less than two months to resolve their differences on education policy and finalize a $11 billion budget. The legislative session ends on Friday, May 26.