Candidates for state superintendent offer competing visions for education
Candidates for state superintendent offer competing visions for education
By Emerson Mays, Gaylord News
On the heels of years of controversy surrounding former State Superintendent of Instruction Ryan Walters, this year’s primary election candidates say they want to improve schools, support teachers and change the tone of classroom teaching.
Gov. Kevin Stitt appointed Lindel Fields to lead the department after Walter resigned in September to lead the nonprofit Teacher Freedom Alliance. During his tenure, Walters attracted controversy over issues including mandated Bibles in classrooms, culture war policies and conflicts with teacher unions.
Fields is not running for the post.
Republicans on the June 16 ballot are State Sen. Adam Pugh, State Rep. Toni Hasenbeck, John Cox, Debra Herlihy, William Crozier, James Taylor and Robert Franklin. Craig McVay and Jenneitte Marshall are running in the Democratic primary
A recent poll by Cole Hargrove & Associates found the race remains largely undecided with 61% of voters saying they are unsure who to support. The poll showed no candidate in the double digits statewide, though Pugh performed well in central Oklahoma while Cox had stronger rural support.
For many voters, the central question is what they want the role to look like moving forward, and whether the office would best be filled by an educator or someone with legislative experience.
“You’re really the executive director of an agency,” said Pugh, who for six years has chaired the Senate education committee.“You have to understand the legislative process…and make parents feel welcome.”
Pugh says his experience managing education policy and budgets in the Senate makes him qualified, and he emphasized literacy, numeracy and workforce readiness as the foundation of his campaign.
“If you can read, write, add, subtract, multiply and divide, you have the foundations to be successful in everything else,” Pugh said.
His platforms include raising teacher salaries, expanding education scholarships, strengthening workforce preparation programs, empowering parents and continuing school choice initiatives such as open transfer policies and parental choice tax credit.
Pugh pushed back against claims that Oklahoma is 50th in education, arguing that many rankings rely on flawed measurements.
“We should always be striving to be number one, ” Pugh said. “But I’m never going to buy into the fact that some survey junk said we were 50th.”
Hasenbeck, a former teacher, also pointed to her legislative experience as a major advantage in the race.
“We need someone who knows how to work the Capitol,” Hasenbeck said. “Fifty percent of that job is implementing policy.”
Hasenbeck, who taught for 19 years before serving in the legislature, emphasized foundational learning and defended standardized testing as an important tool for measuring student achievement learning gaps. She said she wants to enforce standardized testing at the beginning of each academic school year.
“Assesment is one of the tools in our toolbox,” Hasenback said. “I need to know where a kid is in my classroom so I can meet them where they are.”
Hasenback also advocated for stronger literacy initiatives and early intervention programs to ensure students are reading on their grade level.
“The family is going to know the first four weeks of school whether or not their child is on track to be ready for first grade,” Hasenbeck said. “If they’re not, we’re going to meet them where they are and offer intervention.
Hasenbeck said her platform prioritizes early intervention and parental rights, with a focus on campus safety.
McVay brings decades of experience in Oklahoma public education, having served as a teacher, principal and superintendent, including as superintendent of El Reno public schools. He said he was motivated to run due to Walter’s actions while in office.
Walters, McVay said, made “every effort possible to dismantle and disrespect public schools in our state.”
McVay said he has centered his campaign on public school investment and long-term educational planning. He proposes a $12,000 teacher pay raise over four years, lowering class sizes and expanding mental health counseling in schools.
“We have to pay teachers more,” McVay said. “If we can’t compete with New Mexico, then we’re going to be 50th for a long time.”
McVay said he strongly opposes Oklahoma’s private school voucher program and efforts to place Bibles in classrooms, urging that religion is separate from public education.
“Public school funds need to stay in public schools, period,” McVay said. “I am a history teacher. I’m not a preacher or pastor, don’t make me teach the Bible.”
The remaining candidates could not be reached for comment but have described their views on their websites.
Cox’s platform focuses on “safe and secure schools,” replacing end-of-year testing with benchmark assessments and strengthening phonic instruction.
Franklin is campaigning on “back to basics” education centered on reading, math and discipline while also supporting school choice with accountability.
Taylor’s campaign is focused on strengthening public education through teacher retention, stronger cooperation between schools and lawmakers and accountability in how education funding is used.
Herlihy’s platform focuses on improving early literacy rates through expanded pre-kindergarten access, increasing student attendance by addressing barriers to school participation and retaining teachers through enhanced training incentives, classroom investment and the integration of technology and artificial intelligence in education.
Gaylord News is a reporting project of the University of Oklahoma College of Journalism and Mass Communication. For more stories by Gaylord News go to GaylordNews.net.
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