Reading, writing and politics
Walkout sent a jolt through Oklahoma politics, which is being felt in elections across the state
Five days into a statewide teacher walkout, Sarah Carnes was scrolling through her social media feeds when she came across a Facebook post asking if a teacher in the Mustang area would be willing to run for an open state House seat in the upcoming election.
Carnes, who is an art teacher at Mustang High School, had spent the previous week with thousands of other educators at the state Capitol, demanding that lawmakers increase funding for schools, only to be told repeatedly that the level of increase being sought was not going to happen.
The exhilarating experience of participating in one of the state’s largest public demonstrations helped open her mind to an idea she hadn’t really considered before. She quickly responded to the Facebook post that she was interested, her first step toward pursuing political office.
“This wasn’t on my radar at all,” said Carnes, who admits the walkout was a pivotal experience in launching her fledgling political career.
One week later, before the walkout ended in mid-April, Carnes had completed her candidate paperwork, paid the $500 entry fee and announced she was running as a Democrat in House District 47.
“I got so much encouragement and there was nobody who said you can’t do this,” Carnes said.
Carnes is one of dozens of educators who are starting the new school year
in full campaign mode, teaching students by day and talking to voters by night, all in the hopes of becoming a member of the state Legislature in the November elections.
At least 74 licensed teachers filed for state House and Senate seats this year, according to a count byThe Oklahoman.
Another 20 school support workers or administrators also are running for state office, according to the Oklahoma Education Association.
The publication Education Week has counted at least 157 teachers running for office across the country this year, with Oklahoma home to the most candidates. While many teachers had decided to run before April, the fact that the walkout took place during the state’s three-day candidate filing window appeared to spur more educators like Carnes to jump in.
“It just made sense that all of us were at the Capitol trying to bring change that some of us would decide to run,” Carnes said.
As thousands of teachers filled the state Capitol to demand more classroom funding, dozens went to the Capitol’s basement to file for office, sometimes taking on a lawmaker who had just expressed opposition to the tax increases teachers were seeking.
While this year’s teacher walkout produced a salary increase for educators and pumped some additional money into the education budget, Oklahoma’s political landscape also was transformed and the makeup of the state Legislature could be significantly altered come November.
Cyndi Ralston, who has taught for more than 30 years in Broken Arrow and Haskell, said those around her kept encouraging her to run for office, believing the Legislature needed more teacher perspectives.
“I kept saying, ‘No, I’m a teacher,’” said Ralston, who is now seeking the House District 12 seat as a Democrat. “But I decided it’s time to step out of the classroom — I’ve done this for 30 years — and step into a position where I can actually effect the change that we need.”
Seven hundred and ninety-four Oklahomans filed for state office this year, the largest number since 2000. While most weren’t teachers, some political observers credited the teacher walkout and a growing sense of frustration with state lawmakers for the candidate surge.
In 2016, at least 34 teachers ran for state office but most lost. This year, not only are more educators running for office, but there appears to be more organization and funding behind many of the candidates, possibly giving some a better chance of winning legislative seats that have historically been tough for political newcomers to capture. “It’s not that the (teacher candidates) didn’t take their campaigns seriously in 2016, but I do think there is a higher level of sophistication and organization with many of the candidates this year,” said Amber England, a political consultant and owner of the firm Strategy 77.
In 2016, Shawn Sheehan, a Norman educator and former state teacher of the year, sought a state Senate seat, running as an independent. Like most of the other education candidates, he was new to politics and taking on a wellfunded incumbent.
Sheehan lost his race and several months later moved to Texas.
“We’re voting with our feet on this one,” Sheehan said at the time.
Many of this year’s teacher candidates are new to politics and most are running campaigns on shoestring budgets.
But teachers seeking office said they feel like they have more grassroots support and some campaigns have seen significant fundraising, including Carri Hicks, a fourth-grade teacher running in Senate District 40 with a war chest of more than $45,000, according to the latest campaign finance reports.
Hicks, who won the Democratic primary in June, said some voters pledged support when they heard she was a teacher, but she doesn’t believe the teacher label will be enough to win in November.
“There are a lot of people who said they weren’t a single-issue voter, but when you talk about education you really are talking about other issues,” Hicks said. “Education is not a single issue. It really is multifaceted because ... it impacts the economy, prisons, health care, just so much more.”
Politically engaged
At least 28 education candidates won primary elections earlier this summer and another 21 advanced to an Aug. 28 runoff, according to the Oklahoma Education Association.
The large number of educators running for office and momentum from the walkout likely played a part in driving up voter turnout during the June primaries, which was higher than the 2016 general election.
Historically, Oklahoma is a low voter-turnout state with just 40.7 percent of registered voters casting a ballot in the 2014 midterm elections, the lowest rate in more than 50 years.
Fewer than one-third of the state’s eligible voters cast a ballot in 2014, the sixth-lowest rate in the nation, according to the U.S. Election Project.
But beyond running for office, many teachers have remained engaged by volunteering for campaigns or starting their own “political groups.”
“Before (the walkout), I was one of the reasons we were in this mess because I didn’t research the candidates and I didn’t go up to the Capitol,” said Donna Bussell, a reading specialist at Mustang High School.
“But now I’ve got our representative’s phone number on my phone.”
Schools across Oklahoma sent teams of teachers to the state Capitol for the walkout and many of those teachers have continued their advocacy efforts.
Bussell and some fellow Mustang teachers have invited candidates to speak with them about their platform, often asking them specific questions about education funding and policy.
“If we are really trying to reach every student, then we’ve got to be more politically engaged,” Bussell said. “There’s not enough qualified teachers in the classrooms, there’s not enough resources, there’s not enough programs. But if lawmakers don’t see it and don’t hear about it, it doesn’t mean anything to them.”
Parents have also stepped up their political engagement, with several districts seeing the creation of advocacy groups during and after the walkout.
“I’ve never seen this level of political engagement among our parents,” said Erin Brewer, one of the leaders of the Deer Creek Parent Legislative Action Committee.
Brewer said her organization plans to hold advocacy training sessions for parents, provide information about upcoming elections and has interviewed candidates seeking state office. “We plan to be ready to go for the next legislative session,” Brewer said.
Policy shift
While the election of some teacher candidates might provide some additional votes in favor of more school funding, some wonder if the Legislature’s focus will shift from budgets to policy in the coming year.
“I think we are going to see an increasing level of discussion and attention and scrutiny paid to how those local (school) dollars are spent,” said Dave Bond, vice president for advocacy at the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, a rightleaning think tank.
The November ballot will include a state question that would allow school districts to use money from property taxes on teacher pay and other daily operational costs. “I want those school districts to have the ability to utilize some of their ad valorem dollars for operating expenses,” said state Sen. Stephanie Bice, R-Oklahoma City, during debate on the bill in March. “That does not mean they would not be also utilizing them for building or infrastructure costs, but this would allow them the flexibility to also utilize it for teacher salaries.”
Many education leaders have criticized the state question, arguing it will puts more of a burden on school districts, rather than the state Legislature.
Bond said lawmakers might also be more willing to look at reform efforts that include district consolidation or expansion of school choice options, such as charter schools and vouchers.
Recent efforts to consolidate small districts or expand vouchers were often met with cries that teachers needed a raise first.
“But the pay raise happened ... so now I think we should focus on ways to improve efficiency and get more money into the classroom,” Bond said.
The topics that are most important to voters can also change throughout a campaign season. While the walkout might have been top of mind for primary voters in June, which was less than two months after the walkout, November voters might be focused on other issues.
Nicole Miller is a Republican candidate in House District 82, a largely suburban district in northwest Oklahoma City and west Edmond. She isn’t a teacher, but said education has been a dominant issue on the doorsteps as she has campaigned for the past 10 months.
“Earlier on in my campaign ... the emphasis (for voters) seemed to be budget first, then education,” said Miller, remarking that the Legislature met in a special session last fall to try and shore up budget issues.
“When we got into February, you started to see the shift where it was education then budget, especially in those spring months, that’s all people wanted to talk about — education, education, education.
“Now, it really depends on what issue is peaking at the time and for some voters they are like we’ve done (the teacher pay raise), that conversation is done, we need to move forward.”
No matter how many educators are elected to the state House and Senate in November, education funding decisions will require compromise and bipartisan cooperation, especially since the Legislature will almost assuredly remain mostly conservative, with many members adverse to additional tax increases.
Carnes, the Mustang art teacher who is running for office, said teachers might be uniquely qualified to work with lawmakers, especially those who may be stubbornly against more funding for schools. ”We know how to be good negotiators because we negotiate in the classroom all the time,” Carnes said. “Can you please finish this assignment so I can grade it? Please can you read just one more book?”