NEW POLL: opposition grows to school vouchers

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – February 7, 2023

Oklahomans want a bold investment in public schools that serve the vast majority of Oklahoma’s children and strongly oppose the diversion of public dollars to private schools, according to a poll released Tuesday by the Oklahoma Education Coalition.

Among the poll’s key findings:

• Nearly three in four Oklahomans oppose using taxpayer dollars to pay for private school tuition.
• That’s around the same percentage of Oklahomans who believe it is extremely or very important to fund public schools at a level comparable to surrounding states.
• An even higher percentage of Oklahomans – 77% – believe it is extremely or very important to pay Oklahoma teachers at a level comparable to other professions with similar education and training requirements.

The poll of 600 likely voters was conducted by the Tarrance Group in late 2022 following statewide elections. The 74% of Oklahomans who oppose vouchers is 13% more than a similar poll by the same firm a year ago that found about 61% of Oklahoma opposed sending public dollars to private schools.

“I’m not surprised that Oklahomans like me are increasingly wary of vouchers, education savings accounts or any other proposal that results in taxpayer dollars underwriting private school tuition,” said Jamie Rogers, whose two children attend Union Public Schools.

Rogers said even though Gov. Kevin Stitt championed the creation of private school vouchers in the form of education savings accounts during his State of the State speech Monday, she thinks he has the wrong idea about what most parents want.

Every state surrounding Oklahoma invests more in education on a per-student basis. Oklahoma is about $1,825 per student behind the $11,220 invested annually per student in surrounding states, according to the most recent federal data. That means Oklahoma would need to increase education investment by about $1.2 billion just to reach our peer states.

“Our family values the opportunities our children have in Union, and what we want is for Oklahoma and its leaders to value our children and their education as much as leaders in Kansas, Colorado, Arkansas, Missouri, Texas and New Mexico value their children,” said Rogers, who serves with the district’s PTA, has worked as a substitute teacher and previously worked as a private sector recruitment and hiring coordinator. “It makes no sense to divert money to private schools when we haven’t committed to the success of public schools.”

Rogers said the higher investment level allows other states and professions to lure away teachers who are desperately needed in Oklahoma’s classrooms.

“We need to value our current teachers and plan ahead for our future teacher workforce,” Rogers said.

Angelia Franke, who teaches math at Nowata Public Schools, encourages legislators to visit with teachers to better understand how increased support for public schools will make a difference for students and keep Oklahoma’s teacher pipeline strong.

“I’m very concerned that so many of our outstanding veteran teachers are choosing to leave and are too often being succeeded by teachers who have no training and no classroom experience,” Franke said. “We need more focus on preparing and attracting the very best teachers to the profession through better pay, additional resources and more support – and keeping them in the classroom.”

Franke said the loss of experienced educators and increasing rates of teacher turnover is harmful for students.

“Placing public education as the highest priority will greatly benefit our most precious resources and the future of Oklahoma – our children.”

Parents and teachers aren’t the only Oklahomans who want state leaders to focus on the more than 700,000 students attending public schools.

“It’s no secret that Oklahoma is the home to some of the best educational opportunities in the country, and I’m encouraged so many Oklahomans believe students and teachers are worthy of more investment,” said Bethel Public Schools Superintendent Matt Posey. “We have incredible schools that focus on student success and well-being. However, introducing education vouchers into the equation would be detrimental to those educational opportunities.”

Public schools must accept every student who lives within their boundaries and an open transfer law enacted a year ago means students can attend any public school with available seats. Public schools also must track every penny spent and report student achievement data.

“Using taxpayer dollars to support private education that selects their students and that have NO accountability for student achievement, is intentional and will further harm support for public education throughout the state and all of the children we serve, because we serve them all,” Posey said. “We should continue to give Oklahoma students the best opportunity to succeed by ensuring that all public schools have the resources they need.”

Click here to see more results from The Tarrance Group polling.