(The Center Square) - Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt laid out his plan for his next four years in office and called parental choice in education one of his priorities during his inaugural address Monday.
“Just one year after we passed the Open Transfer law, thousands of students are taking advantage and can now choose to attend a school that better fits their needs, like Charles Page High School in Sand Springs, which creates a tailored learning plan for every one of their students,” Stitt said.
Stitt also reiterated his long-term goal of making Oklahoma one of the top states in the country.
“We are going to challenge the status quo," Stitt said. "And we are going to break out of the bottom and break into the top ten.”
Rep. Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma, said in the statement for the Democratic party that the governor has done little in his first term to move the state forward.
“We still rank 45th in public school funding, 48th in access to healthcare, and just last year were cited as the worst state for women to live in the entire country," Munson said in a statement. "The facts don’t lie and we are nowhere near a top 10 state after four years of Gov. Stitt.”
The governor acknowledged in his address the state’s education system is ranked near the bottom. He said his office would work to hold the education system accountable for change with “measurable outcomes.”
Stitt also said he wants to reduce the size of government.
“Across several state agencies, we’ve pushed for flat budgets, and we have shrunk the size of government while also delivering better, more efficient services to the taxpayer. And there is more to do. I believe Oklahomans recognized this too,” the governor said.
Stitt said choices made during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in Oklahoma ranking among the top ten states with the highest net migration.
“When other states shut down, Oklahoma chose freedom and personal responsibility,” said Stitt. “We led with both courage and compassion, and we did not surrender our citizens to groupthink.”
Other states had setbacks during the pandemic, Stitt said.
“During a pandemic, we cut taxes for every single Oklahoman and for job creators to keep businesses growing," Stitt said. "That has played a significant role in delivering the most diversified economy in Oklahoma’s history. And we are going to keep moving the needle on reducing taxes over the next four years and getting government out of the way."
via Oklahoma's Center Square News