The Oklahoma State Chamber plans to hire a "super star" from the national education reform movement to head a new nonprofit to aggressively push for school choice in Oklahoma's K-12 public education.
According to a copy of a grant request to the Walton Family Foundation obtained by the Tulsa World, the state chamber is requesting a three-year $300,000 grant from the foundation to advocate for "an aggressive change agenda" in Oklahoma education.
Under the auspices of the chamber, the new organization will seek to educate "key stakeholders and policymakers" throughout the state about the "need for additional reforms that emphasize protecting and expanding school choice," it reads.
The document spells out a timeline that includes hiring an executive director by Oct. 15 and hosting a nonpartisan legislative academy on education reform policy by Jan. 30.
"A key part of the effort will also focus on recruiting a 'super star' from the education reform movement nationally, an individual with a proven track record of successful project management and concensus building," the document said.
The document is circulating among Oklahoma lawmakers and educators statewide, and many had never heard about this effort, including some whose names appear in the document as part of the project and organization management team.
The proposal also slams the Oklahoma Business Education Coalition headed by former state Education Secretary Phyllis Hudecki, who resigned as secretary this summer.
The document says OBEC "has recently lost its drive for reform and has not been geographically diverse overall."
Damon Gardenhire is listed as the "principal PO" in the document. He is the former communications director for state Superintendent Janet Barresi. He left that job more than a year ago for a position with the Walton Family Foundation, known for its support of the school choice movement.
Fred Morgan, president and chief executive officer of the Oklahoma State Chamber, said he views the new nonprofit education advocacy organization as "complementary" to OBEC's efforts.
"The state Chamber is a member of OBEC. We're not trying to compete with them," he said. "We think everybody ought to be involved in education reform because it's a pressing problem for the state and a pressing problem for the country."
Morgan said the initiative is simply a continuation of the chamber's efforts already in place and a response to its business members' concerns.
"It's basically trying to focus more intently on common education reforms and trying to protect things like common core and getting the business community more engaged," he said.
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