The Oklahoma Watch-Out: School Choice edition on Feb. 28 came to an angry conclusion (see video above) after Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs’ Jonathan Small presented one alternative fact after another.
During the forum’s final minutes, Oklahoma Education Association president Alicia Priest made the unobjectionable and true statement that when poor children have social and emotional issues or lack transportation, or when schools have regulations requiring donations of money or time, those kids are unable to choose private schools.
As if on cue, OCPA president Small erupted, “I resent that kind of bigotry. … I resent the notion that black parents are too stupid to figure a way to help …”
From there, objections from the crowd and from Priest herself cut Small off.
“In no way did I just say that,” Priest protested.
Viewers can rewind the video above to see the full forum and how tensions built to Small’s shocking display.
Fact-checking the OCPA claims
Before the dramatic ending approached, Small fended off the charge that private-school vouchers violate the principle of separation of church and state. He replied that “many families” say teaching children that humans “came from monkeys is a religion itself,” and thus he argued that America lacks separation of church and state already.
Small demonstrated great skill in expressing post-truth statements, starting with the claim that 32 of 34 studies show that school choice increased student performance for both students who exercised their private-school choices and for the traditional public schools they left.
In fact, a comprehensive analysis of education research by Gary Miron and Jessica Urschel shows that 30 charter studies showed positive results, 30 showed comparable negative results and 23 showed mixed results.
Small also claimed that Oklahoma has raised education funding by 84 percent, and that we spend more than $13,000 per student.
In fact, we are 47th in the nation in school funding, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Our average funding is $8,851 per student, in contrast to the regional average of $10,744.
The inconsistencies between Small’s arguments and reality could go on and on. Oklahomans deserve honest discussions about this education topic instead of divisive rhetoric lacking facts.
