Oklahoma Watch
Full gubernatorial responses to Oklahoma teacher walkout questions.
DEMOCRATS
Drew Edmondson
“There is long-term damage being done to our state every day because we
don’t fully fund public education. The responsibility for that falls squarely into
the lap of the legislature. Teachers recognize that. Parents recognize that.
Our business community, which relies on the availability of an educated
workforce, recognizes that. It seems that the last people to come to this
awakening are Governor Fallin and her legislative caucus. They have the
power to end the walkout today, but they seem to lack the political will to do
it. If that’s the side of history they want to stand on, they will be asking our
kids to pay the price. My guess is that some of those elected leaders will pay
the price in November, too, when they are replaced with candidates who will
actually make public education the priority it should be. That’s certainly the
kind of governor I hope to be.”
Connie Johnson
Q: How long should local school districts close their schools in support of the
walkout?
A: Local school districts are integral components of the walkout as the
walkout is about THEIR people and failing infrastructure, i.e., underpaid
teachers and support staff, children with substandard equipment, supplies
and materials, four day school weeks, frustrated parents concerned about
their children’s futures in a broken and compromised system, taxpayers
shocked at the intransigence and intolerance of a legislature that turns a
deaf ear to constituent concerns about funding cuts, in favor of special
interests and well-connected donors. Districts should and must do whatever
is necessary (WIN) in support of themselves. They should not allow anyone to
turn this into an us vs. them moment.
Q: Do teachers and their supporters risk a backlash among
parents/lawmakers if this goes on too long?
A: Quite the contrary. I believe some are in the process of promoting a
backlash. We must not lose sight of the fact that this walkout is a backlash.
People are lashing back at a Legislature that is too entrenched to care about
their well-being; a legislature that has no real, viable and believable solutions
to the problem, and is too arrogant to own it; a legislature that refuses to
acknowledge that what they have thrown up on the wall is a mirage, a
temporary fix designed to convince the people to go home, to lull them back
into a state of complacency. This is a collective moment in which the people

 of Oklahoma, just like W. Virginia and Kentucky, are fully awake, not buying
the okie-doke and, I believe, are standing in solidarity with educators.
Q: Has the Legislature done enough to fund education this year, with the
passage last week of teacher raises and additional revenue?
A: No, it’s embarrassingly and insultingly inadequate. Oklahomans are
looking for courageous legislators who will not be afraid to take bold action
at such a time as this.
Q: How would a Gov. Johnson administration handle a similar situation if
large numbers of teachers showed up at the Capitol to advocate for public
education?
A: As governor, I have a plan to fund education, and will support public
education by including educators in policy decisions so that we never have to
come to this situation. I would welcome teachers with respect and admiration
for the work they do, as I will be working for and because of them.
REPUBLICANS
Mick Cornett (via spokesman Will Gattenby)
Mick Cornett knows becoming a state that excels in education will take new
leadership and priorities in the budget process from the State Capitol. As
Mayor of Oklahoma City, Mick started the budget process early, he engaged
everyone from City Councilors to community leaders to citizens. That process
has led the city to 14-straight on-time balanced budgets, a 15 percent rainy
day fund and the highest bond rating a city can have.
Mick is glad teachers are on track to get a raise, which is certainly in the best
interest of our state and all our communities. Mick also recognizes it is only
the first step in prioritizing education in our state.
A teacher walkout, however, is not in the best interest of the state. Our
students should be in class, and he hopes for a speedy resolution to the
current walkout. He will strive to champion education as Governor.
Dan Fisher (did not respond)
Gary Jones
I’ve talked to lots of teachers in the last few days and I ask them if they
understand how historic what got passed last week was. It was a difficult
vote for a lot of these Republicans to vote to raise taxes. I applaud these
lawmakers for doing what they thought was the right thing to do.
We have to deal with the reality of our state’s finances: Other needs need to
be funded like health care, mental health, corrections.

 (You) have to be careful and if you go against people who have supported
you in the past, you may win the battle but lose the war.
The plan that passed was basically my plan. I think they got as much as they
could under the circumstances. If it was 7 percent GPT, the votes weren’t
there. If it was hotel/motel tax, the Senate didn’t want that.
(You) need to think about what you’re asking for and if it’s possible to ask for
it later; I think the Legislature has done about all it can do this year.
I expect it to go through maybe Thursday; at some in time, somebody’s got
to teach these kids, and it’s testing time and they risk public sentiment
turning against them.
Maybe growth revenue will come, maybe additional funds from waste,
although I don’t see much. Ask teachers to look for waste in their own district
and be a part of the solution and come together.
Todd Lamb (campaign referred to April 2, 2018, appearance on Fox
News; transcript below)
Fox News Channel’s Fox News at Night with Shannon Bream
Bream: You’ve got an interesting perspective here because you also happen
to be married to a teacher at one of these schools, so what’s the discussion
like in your house?
Lamb: Well, I married I think the best teacher in the state of Oklahoma, my
wife. I’ve leaned on my wife, Monica, for a lot of advice and counsel in
education issues throughout my career. We have a high school student, we
have a middle school student, and my wife teaches elementary, so you kind
of run the gamut there. What I am personally involved in and the lens I look
though, not just as lieutenant governor, not just as a candidate for governor
but also as a Dad, I look through a lot of these policies through the lens as a
father who cares a lot about public education in Oklahoma.
Bream: Alight. I want to read a couple of excerpts from the Washington Post,
they are on the ground doing some reporting on what they saw and what the
teachers were telling them, some of the teachers. They describe computers
and textbooks more than 10 years old; leaking roofs; that kids are shivering
thought the winter because there are faulty heaters and buildings not
properly maintained; some districts gone to four days a week because they
can’t afford to have electricity for five days a week classes. Then this quote:
“Oklahoma has faced some of the deepest cuts to education in the nation.
Adjusted for inflation, state spending per student has fallen nearly 30
percent over the past decade, according to the left-leaning Center on Budget
and Policy Priorities.” What do you say to that?
Lamb: Well, there’s a lot to say to that, Shannon. Let me state the most
recent proposal that has been passed by the Legislature in Oklahoma, it
provides money for a teacher pay raise, but really the package gets an ‘F’ in

 reform. And the reform, you hit on some of the key elements that Oklahoma
needs to reform in education. Now historically, in Oklahoma, in 1990,
Oklahoma passed House Bill 1017 which was kind of sold to the citizens and
the educators as the panacea, the end-all, be-all, fix-all to common
education in Oklahoma. Well, that didn’t work, so around early 2000, 2002,
around there, Oklahoma passed the education lottery. Additional funding for
education. But you’re quoting some of the talk about the classroom,
textbooks, deteriorating walls. Here’s the reform that Oklahoma needs, not
just funding for education. Yes, I support that, I support a teacher pay raise,
but reform with it. And as I plan to be the next governor of Oklahoma, reform
that I’m for and support and will require is a minimum of 65 percent of all the
education dollars to go inside the classroom. Shannon, that’s where the two
most important people are: our students and our teachers. Not enough
money is going in the classroom. 65 percent requirement inside the
classroom helps with teacher pay, new textbooks, new technologies, better
infrastructure inside the classroom. That’s where money needs to be spent
and prioritized.
Bream: Alright. Here’s what one of your state reps who is a Democrat had to
say (Emily Virgin). She says, “It’s absolutely frustrating because we’ve seen
package after package be put up for a vote that has disproportionately
affected middle class, working Oklahomans and hasn’t asked the oil and gas
industry or those who are making ore to pay their fair share.” So where do
those extra dollars come from?
Lamb: Well, let me just say that I’m a proven conservative. I’ve been antitax, I just spent six years in the Oklahoma state senate years ago, my time
as lieutenant governor, I don’t have a large policy role, but I’ve been anti-tax
increases. I didn’t support tax increases for this teacher pay raise because
there are other ways to get there, Shannon. I talk about 65 percent in the
classroom, but Oklahoma needs to reform our budget process, it’s antiquated
and out of date. Right now, our budget is decided by about five legislators in
a smoke-filled room with the door closed with two months to go, or excuse
me, about two weeks to go, in our legislature session. The door opens up and
the rest of the Legislature is forced to vote on the budget. So, we need
serious budget reforms in Oklahoma. Last year, billions of dollars was
allowed out the door in special giveaways. We can find $400 million, $500
million, $600 million for teacher pay or other issues we need to address in
Oklahoma in the billions and billions of dollars Oklahoma allows out the door.
What I don’t want, or what I do want, let me say: I want to make sure our
kids in Oklahoma receive the best education possible. I want to reward our
hard-working teachers. The teachers, they have a very tough and
challenging job. I know because I will go with my wife to her classroom; I
went with her about a month ago on a Sunday evening, parking lot was filled.
I thought we were missing a school activity, but my wife said no, these are
my colleagues getting ready for the week. So, I support getting a great

 education for our students; we’ve got to reform how that money gets there.
And what I don’t want with theses tax hikes, these tax increases, I don’t want
a young boy or young girl go home from school and hear their parent lost a
job because of a tax increase.
Bream: It’s a very difficult puzzle to put together. As the daughter of a
teacher, I know how absolutely hard they work and how much out of their
pockets they often spend as well. Lt. Gov., thanks for stopping in with us.
Gary Richardson
Q: How long should local school districts close their schools in support of the
walkout?
A: That is a decision I would leave up to the local school boards which get
direct input from parents. Local control is always best when it comes to
education and they are the ones looking out for the interests of their own
students. I trust their judgment on not protracting this walkout to the
detriment of their students.
Regardless of what anyone thinks of the walkout, teachers have the legal
right to do so under the terms of their collective bargaining agreement. What
bothers me most is how easily this could have been avoided. How was this
allowed to snowball into a statewide crisis? All signs point back to one root
cause — an absence of leadership.
Q: Do teachers and their supporters risk a backlash among
parents/lawmakers if this goes on too long?
A: I understand why teachers are outraged and I believe their outrage is
justified. They have been sold one false bill of goods after another from
lawmakers who turned their backs on their own principles.
I believe backlash is starting to build which is pretty quickly evidenced on
social media. These are my concerns regarding potential backlash: First, I
worry about the single mother working two jobs who is struggling to figure
out how to both work and take care of her kids. I know schools are not
babysitting services but working people build their lives around structured
schedules and this is becoming a problem for a lot of Oklahomans. Secondly,
if students do not get to participate in standardized statewide testing, which
is set to begin next week, we risk losing millions of dollars in federal funding.
If that happens, no one wins.
Q: Has the Legislature done enough to fund education this year, with the
passage last week of teacher raises and additional revenue?
A: Not only has the legislature not done enough, the legislature has actually
been detrimental. Again, it is a total absence of leadership.
But raising taxes is not the answer. Demanding accountability and oversight
of agency spending is the answer. I have pinpointed $450 million in waste

 and mismanagement we could immediately use to help fund a pay raise
without tax hikes.
As governor, I will take the reins to make sure that happens. I believe any
mismanagement, waste or theft of our tax dollars is stealing from the
children of Oklahoma.
Q: How would a Gov. Richardson administration handle a similar situation if
large numbers of teachers showed up at the Capitol to advocate for public
education?
A: When any large group comes to me as Governor, I will treat them with
respect and cooperation. I will listen to their concerns. I will process their
ideas and share my ideas as well. I would be walking the halls of the Capitol,
learning from the people and negotiating with lawmakers.
I promise you this – the last place you will find me in a crisis is barricaded
behind my office doors.
Kevin Stitt
Oklahoma needs to take care of our teachers, ensuring they are paid a salary
that competes with what educators make in our neighboring states. This
crisis in education - and across state government - has been more than a
decade in the making, and it will not be solved overnight. Unfortunately, the
historic tax package passed last week is another example of band aid
solutions by politicians. Where is the money from the lottery, casinos, and
horse racing? Once again, politicians tied another set of tax increases to
teacher pay that are either regressive or volatile. We have to first bring
stability, transparency, and accountability to our state budget or else we are
going to be faced with a shortfall again within the next decade. We can’t
keep kicking the can down the road and hope for different outcomes.
A part of my story at Gateway is that in our early days, I required our
company to focus heavily on building a strong savings fund. When the
financial crash hit in 2008, our reserves gave me a cushion to lead our
company through hard decisions and big changes, while keeping our doors
open and people employed during a very difficult economy.
In a Stitt administration, I promise teachers a long-term commitment to
delivering a Top Ten education system. To do this, we need to not only bring
transparency to the state budget, but also stability. As our economy begins
to grow, we need to expand our savings with the stabilization fund, and we
will need tax reform to address the volatility in our revenue. I will also lead
our state through assessing our education funding formula so that it forces
more dollars into the classroom and creates efficiency in administration
costs. I also support giving some flexibility to municipalities to fund
classroom needs instead of tying their hands to new buildings and football

 stadiums. With reforms, I will also put metrics in place to judge how my
administration is doing to help improve our public education system.
As governor, I will commit to simultaneously focus on growth while building
our middle class. We have to leverage the national growth currently
underway and recruit it to Oklahoma, because without growth, we will not
have a sustainable budget to support core public services. I believe this is
going to require fresh leadership from outside of the good old boy political
class. I promise to end politics as usual and to recruit Oklahomans from
outside of the political system to come serve with me and help our state
grow again.
LIBERTARIANS
Rex Lawhorn
Q: How long should local school districts close their schools in support of the
walkout?
A: The school districts shouldn't have closed their schools at all. This is
another attempt by the school boards and superintendents to manipulate the
cause to promote their own agenda, which is to pour more money into a
leaky bucket without enacting any real reforms that would fix the issues that
caused the classroom shortfalls to begin with. I'm of the firm belief that if
teachers had all the information, they would be packing the school district
offices and picketing the homes of their school board members.
Teachers are absolutely underpaid. Their classrooms are absolutely lacking
necessary materials. I don't believe any of the contention over this subject
has anything to do with recognizing the horrible condition our education
system is in. The greatest contention is in the proposed solutions. Those who
recognize the exceptional amount of waste in the system want that cleaned
up, and rightly surmise that addressing these issues, by themselves, would
alleviate the situation.
Q: Do teachers and their supporters risk a backlash among
parents/lawmakers if this goes on too long?
A: I think we're already seeing the backlash. As the issue has been
highlighted, and the real effects of the walkout have been realized, I've
already seen a shift in public sentiment reflecting the fact that people are
aware that the wrong issues are being addressed at the wrong level.
Q: Has the Legislature done enough to fund education this year, with the
passage last week of teacher raises and additional revenue?
A: The legislature hasn't done enough, but not because they didn't fund. We
know, for certain, that there is somewhere around a billion dollars that aren't
being used to educate Oklahoma students being spent in education that
could be redirected to the classroom. Under the plan I've been pushing for
since February of last year, all of their demands could have been met.

 Regarding being required to work beyond the scope of their contracts, that's
an issue that's being pushed by the school boards, not the legislature. The
fact that all the per pupil expenditure increases haven't made it to the
classroom is, again, a school board issue. The state only has discretion to
allocate funds to the schools, and I believe they've done so. The problem
isn't that we haven't given them the money, but rather the school boards are
directing it to resources outside the classroom, refusing to acknowledge the
needs of the two most important aspects of education, the teachers and the
students.
I don't believe that raising additional revenue should have been the first
course of action, as we still don't have the oversight or legislative authority
to ensure any additional dollars make it into the classroom. The changes that
need to be made are administrative and structural so that so many funds
aren't syphoned off before they ever make it into the classroom.
Q: How would a Gov. Lawhorn administration handle a similar situation if
large numbers of teachers showed up at the Capitol to advocate for public
education?
A: Part of my platform has been instituting "Open Office Fridays". During at
least one Friday out of every month, I invite any member of the public that
wishes to address my leadership to come sit down with me, in my office, and
make your thoughts known. If that had been in place all along, we could
have avoided this entire confrontation because the issue would have been in
front of the governor before it became a crisis.
However, in the event that something such as this arose anyway, I would
walk out with them and ask what they wanted. As governor, you have wide
latitude to make educational policy through the Board of Regents, and I
would seek unilateral solutions that didn't require the legislative process to
address legitimate concerns. Again, though, this is an issue I've been
following for years and would have loved the opportunity to sit in Mary's
office for just a week to make many of the necessary changes.
On a personal note, supporting our teachers and not supporting the school
closures are not mutually exclusive options. My son and many of my cousins
were educated here. My grandson will be attending Oklahoma schools. This
is an issue that I've been watching closely for a decade now, and have grown
just as angry as so many of our teachers have over the inability to get
anything accomplished. Both of my parents were teachers, many of my
aunts, uncles and cousins are and have been teachers. Our entire region has
been under a crisis of sorts for a long time now. It's the reason education has
been my top priority since my campaign began back in Feb of 2017. It's the
foundational core of any society, and until we prioritize the classroom first,
we're going to continue to have problems in every other aspect of our
society. I support our teachers and our classrooms above all. My only
contention is the plan they are pushing won't solve the problems. It only
further entrenches the problem and makes solutions that much more
difficult.

 Joseph “Joe Exotic” Maldonado (did not respond)
Chris Powell
Q: How long should local school districts close their schools in support of the
walkout?
A: I have little expectation that the Legislature will have the political will to
increase education funding further during this session.
Q: Do teachers and their supporters risk a backlash among
parents/lawmakers if this goes on too long?
A: The backlash from legislators and from parents of school-age children is
already under way. I am fortunate enough that my children are old enough to
not require supervision at home for a few days, but my friends and coworkers with small children are very frustrated and are less and less willing
to continue to view the protest favorably.
Q: Has the Legislature done enough to fund education this year, with the
passage last week of teacher raises and additional revenue?
A: In my view the problem is less about the amount of funding and more
about the revenue structure and the constraints on how districts may use
revenue. I proposed allowing for millage increases on a district or countywide basis that would increase local funding as well as elimination of tax
increment financing districts that rob school districts as well as county
governments of funding. Both of these ideas would mean more local
autonomy and less dependence on the Legislature. Reduced dependence on
state (and federal) money should result in less micromanagement of the
classroom through curriculum demands, testing regimes, and reporting
requirements, allowing our education professionals greater freedom to
practice their craft and better serve students' individual needs. Increasing
funding through general appropriations seems to me to be likely to embolden
lawmakers to further constrain teachers in the classroom. I believe the best
people to make decisions about a child's education are the teachers and
parents who know that child, not politicians who have never been to that
child's school.
Q: How would a Gov. Powell administration handle a similar situation if large
numbers of teachers showed up at the Capitol to advocate for public
education?
A: First, I would be present. A person who asks to be chosen by the people of
Oklahoma to be their representative but cannot even be in the building when
large numbers of them show up to voice their displeasure is doing it wrong.
Second, I would seek to be respectful to any group, not just teachers,
engaging in this sort of civil political action, regardless of how much or how
little I might agree with them. Statements by Gov. Fallin that teachers should

 come "say thank you" and that by not doing that they are like "teenagers
who want a better car" demonstrate how out of touch the Governor is. Lastly,
I would seek to communicate solutions while listening to hear the solutions of
others in order to find a path to improvement, even if it does not include an
immediate resolution. In my observation there has been little in the way of
articulation of specific proposals to make common education more efficient,
more effective, and more responsive to the community and to the needs of
students, not just from the Governor and the various factions in the
Legislature but also from the OEA. Calls for more funding without discussion
of how to improve the working environment for teachers and improve
outcomes for students, particularly when it would be accomplished in a
manner that further reinforces Legislative micro-management of the
classroom, will not be a long-term fix even if enacted.