OCPA calls to make State Superintendent an appointed position, not elected

OCPA: For accountability, make state superintendent appointed

OKLAHOMA CITY (October 2, 2025) — To bring greater accountability to the state school system and reduce dysfunction in state government, Oklahoma should make the position of state superintendent a gubernatorial appointee, Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs President Jonathan Small said today.

“Every four years, candidates for Oklahoma governor campaign on education issues, but when they are elected, they have little direct oversight of the school system because the state superintendent is elected separately,” Small said. “Too often, we have seen an elected state superintendent work at cross-purposes to the governor. We saw that with former state Superintendent Joy Hofmeister, who oversaw the worst academic declines in decades even as school spending exploded and then ran for governor against Kevin Stitt on a platform of improving the education decline she helped create.

“As OCPA has recommended since the Brad Henry administration, it’s time to bring real accountability to Oklahoma schools by making the state superintendent a gubernatorial appointee,” Small concluded. “That would ensure a unified approach to education in the executive branch, allow future governors to impose immediate accountability to correct course when necessary, and make voters’ gubernatorial choices more impactful to achieving academic improvement in our state schools.”

The Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs promotes the flourishing of the people of Oklahoma by advancing principles and policies that support free enterprise, limited government, personal responsibility, individual initiative, and strong families.