Oklahoma Education and You

The conservative think tank, the Oklahoma Council for Public Affairs, has recently published articles comparing the amount of school funding Oklahoma Public Schools receive with private school tuition and decrying legislation that would require private schools that accept public money to administer state assessments.

Regarding funding, OPCA uses data from the Oklahoma Cost Accounting system, which shows total revenue of $9,586,994,906 received by Oklahoma Public School Districts in the 2024-25 school year.  They state the number of Oklahoma Public School students as 645,904 to get a per-pupil spending amount of $14,842.

This number is compared to an average private school tuition of $11,166 per year.  The article’s author, Ray Carter, neglects to state that tuition is not the only source of revenue for Oklahoma Private Schools. The National Business Officers Association, an organization that provides financial guidance to private schools, states that tuition accounts for approximately 70-80% of private school funding.  Using the high estimate of 80 percent raises the average per-pupil funding for private school students to $13,399.

Additionally, the total revenue figure for Oklahoma public schools includes the funds below.  Private schools have access to child nutrition funds if they choose to participate in the National School Lunch Program. Bond funds and sinking funds are used for capital improvements.  Federal title funds are allocated based on the number of students living in poverty, and special education funding is earmarked for serving children with disabilities.  Private schools typically serve these populations at lower rates than public schools.

Funding Sources	Funding Sources
Child Nutrition	$ 29,808,988.22
Bond Funds	$ 36,339,666.84
Sinking Funds	$ 1,114,900,836.94
Child Care	$ 190,172.70
Special Education Funding	$ 168,814,078.90
Federal Title Funding	$ 382,043,108.98
Total	$ 1,732,096,852.58

I propose subtracting these numbers from per-pupil funding for public schools, on the premise that private schools rely on sources other than tuition for these purposes or do not serve the same student populations as public schools.  When you subtract the total funding amount from these sources, you get a per-pupil funding amount of  $12,161.09 for public schools in Oklahoma.  Remember, this assumes the most conservative estimate of what percentage of private school funding comes from tuition.  So, at worst, Oklahoma public schools are receiving about $1000 more per pupil than private schools.  You know what $1000 buys, not much.

I’m an advocate for school choice; however, public education spending requires public accountability.  Florida, Indiana, and Louisiana all require that private schools that accept public funds administer and report test results.  These test results can be state assessments or other nationally normed assessments approved by the state.  Oklahoma currently does not. Why?

OCPA argues that administering state assessments is tantamount to dictating what it calls an “inferior curriculum.”  If this curriculum is truly inferior, why is it being forced on Oklahoma’s public schools?  But that is an argument for another day. OCPA states that private school students score higher than public school students and are given more rigorous tests. Where is the proof for this?   I’ll concede that students at the most expensive private schools in Oklahoma score higher on the ACT than most Oklahoma students, but that is also due to the income bracket their families fall into.

School choice is expanding in Oklahoma, and it needs to expand further. Here is why.  Education is an opportunity for every child to maximize their talents.   Public schools are not designed just to foster individual excellence. Public education is designed to create a citizenry that enables the republic to continue functioning.   The role public schools have been forced to play in fulfilling this mission has grown.  Schools have become de facto community centers serving those most in need. Predictably, families who don’t need all the wraparound services that require meeting every child’s needs often seek environments where schools don’t have to expend the same number of resources to fulfill that role.  Thus, large urban districts have created magnet schools, charter schools have expanded, and the push for private school vouchers has grown.

All these mechanisms aim to improve Oklahoma’s education system. But it is inaccurate to call private schools superior to public schools; they serve different roles. Oklahoma’s think tanks should recognize this and approach the conversation with intellectual honesty.