Oklahoma Secretary of State Michael Rogers may get an additional job in Gov. Kevin Stitt’s cabinet.
Stitt has picked Rogers to also be the Secretary of Education. Rogers said while the goal is making Oklahoma a top-10 state in education, he and Stitt will not be dictating school policy from the governor’s office.
"We have an elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction who is going to run the ship, basically, on education. Our job is going to be to just kind of help out wherever we need to be," Rogers said. "There’s a lot of boards and commissions that report up to the Secretary of Education. We’ll still handle those, but really try to work hand-in-hand as much as we can with the superintendent to help carry out the policies of education in Oklahoma."
The appointment is subject to Senate confirmation. Rogers, a former state lawmaker, chaired the House Common Education Committee.
State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister said Oklahoma can come up with high standards to meet Stitt’s top-10 goal, but they won’t matter if there aren’t enough qualified teachers to help students meet them.
"So, we are going to continue to focus on solving our teacher shortage, making Oklahoma a place that’s attractive to stay and teach in the profession, but then also to attract new people here," Hofmeister said.
Hofmeister said talks with Stitt and Rogers have been positive so far.
"Our kids deserve so much more than what we’ve been able to give them after a decade of eroded funding for public education. So, our focus is going to stay on the student and doing whatever it takes to make them successful, and from what I can tell, we have a very committed governor," Hofmeister said.
