OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (October 3rd) - In case you missed it, Americans for Prosperity-Oklahoma (AFP-OK) Deputy Director Bradley Ward, Ph.D., testified during a state House of Representatives interim study on Tuesday to advocate for moving Oklahoma's school board elections to align with state and federal elections.
Ward argued that Oklahoma's laws requiring standalone school board elections earlier in the year is a waste of money - nearly $17 million - that could instead fund education.
“Electing a school board member with just 2% of voter turnout is not conducive to the needs of one of the state’s largest school districts, as it undermines democratic representation and fails to capture the diverse perspectives of the community that the board ultimately serves,” Ward said in the hearing, as reported by The Oklahoman.
Background:
In April, AFP-OK hosted a 'Parental Power' school choice rally in favor of moving the state school board elections at the Oklahoma capitol building alongside the Oklahoma secretary of education and members of the state House and Senate.
AFP-OK is a leader in Oklahoma's education freedom movement, advocating for policies like opportunity scholarships that empower students and families to pursue the schooling options where they can achieve their highest potential.
Read Ward's presentation HERE, and additional analysis of the study by the Oklahoma Council on Public Affairs HERE.
Yes, AFP is definitely a 'leader' in the school choice effort. They are thus and so because of the scads of money they get from school choice proponents like Walmart Foundation. While I would agree that school board elections need greater public exposure, their stubborn stance regarding the gift of taxpayer dollars to families to send their child/children to private school has been arguably the worst thing that has happened to education in Oklahoma to date. A group that uses someone else's money to advocate for the spread of other people's money to allow for better circumstances than their own is clearly socialist based. Knowing AFPs background makes me wonder what they have to gain from advocating for the school board election change because it's well known that philanthropy among school choice groups correlates only to their donors wishes.
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