LAWTON — Gov. Kevin Stitt’s State of the State speech drew applause from residents in Southwestern Oklahoma.
On Monday, Stitt laid out his administrative goals for the 2022 legislative session, calling on the Legislature to make major changes in the way the state regulates medical marijuana, reconfigures and consolidates the public safety system and increases the pay of the state’s best teachers to the six-figure level.
“We know education is not one-size-fits-all, and I pledge to support any legislation that gives parents more school choice, because in Oklahoma, we need to fund students, not systems,” Stitt said.
Stitt said Oklahoma “needs new ideas, more options, and higher standards for our kids.
“This is just common sense,” he said. “We have a duty to make sure nothing stands in the way of an Oklahoma student achieving their full potential. There are roadblocks – literally. State law creates artificial barriers for school districts that don’t put our students first.”
Oklahoma’s current education system, the governor said, has roadblocks which keep some of the best teachers out of the classroom. “Right now, some talented teachers choose to leave the classroom to make more money as an administrator,” Stitt said. “Oklahoma students can’t be the best without the best teachers. That’s why I’m proposing matching funds so that our best teachers can make six-figure salaries and stay in the classroom.”
Those proposals drew praise from Elgin Middle School teacher Melissa Evon. Evon, who teaches both geography and civics, said she was pleased by the call for increased teacher pay but added she wanted to know how the state would classify teachers for the pay increase.
“I like the idea, but I’d like to know more,” she said. “I want to know who would qualify as a ‘best’ teacher.”
Evon said she wanted to make sure that Stitt supported every type of student. “I want us to be on the same side in supporting schoolkids,” she said. “All schoolkids — public schoolkids and private schoolkids and kids who are homeschooled. I want him to be a champion for all schools.”
She said she disagreed with the governor’s proposal to increase the use of vouchers but supported the governor’s focus on education.
“We need support,” she said. “Right now, is a hard time to be a schoolteacher.”
Stitt’s speech drew the opposite response from tribal leaders.
“I attended with hopes to hear that Gov. Stitt might transition toward cooperation and collaboration with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and other tribal nations now that the United States Supreme Court has refused to overturn its McGirt ruling, Muskogee (Creek) Principal Chief David Hill wrote in a Facebook post. “As I listened, I heard Oklahoma’s governor again use tragedy and fear-mongering for his own gain. Even worse, he made up a story using the tragic case of a child who was killed. The Governor's claim that Richard Roth could be released from prison due to McGirt is patently false.”
Retired Lawton police detective Josh Powers countered that Stitt’s speech was on point. Powers said he agreed with a great deal of the governor’s address.
“I think his (Stitt’s) point on McGirt is absolutely correct,” Powers said. “I feel like it’s one of the (the court’s) worst decisions ever made. It’s been a total blow to law enforcement.”
Powers, an 11-year veteran with Lawton Police Department, also praised Stitt’s proposals for education and public safety, though he said he was concerned about the governor’s call to create a central training center for public safety officials.
The consolidation structure for the agencies I support,” he said. “I could see where having all departments with the same structure would be beneficial.”
But Powers said the governor’s proposal for a central training center could be problematic for many agencies in rural and remote areas.
“For many agencies, the problems come when the agency has to send people out of town for training,” he said. “They aren’t always able to cover the time or the costs involved. And CLEET (the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training) already has a central program in Ada.”
A better solution, he said, would be to invest in training systems that are regionally located.
Powers said he also supported the governor’s call to change the regulation of medical marijuana and his push to pay teachers more.
“He’s on target on those,” he said. “And his call for lowering taxes such as the grocery tax, I don’t think anyone has a problem with that.”
With the first week of the legislative session underway, state lawmakers will begin the process of examining the governor’s policy proposals. Right now, the Legislature has more than 4,700 pieces of legislation to address.
Oklahoma’s legislative session ends in May.