Video: Barresi, Hofmeister Square Off In Tulsa GOP Meeting

The two Republican candidates for Oklahoma State Superintendent faced off Tuesday for the first time during a luncheon of the Republican Women’s Club of Tulsa County.

Superintendent Janet Barresi and her challenger, Joy Hofmeister of Tulsa, made a joint appearance during which they made opening and closing remarks and answered questions from the audience during an hour-long session.

In her opening statement, Barresi noted many parents have voiced their concerns about the third-grade reading law, which mandates that children pass the state standardized reading test or be retained in third grade.

The focus should be not on how many students will be retained, but how many students are illiterate in Oklahoma and how it will affect their lives, she said.

“A child who scores unsatisfactory on a third-grade assessment can’t read and comprehend ‘Horton Hears A Who.’ But they’re being sent into fourth grade where they are expected to read and understand “Little House on the Prairie,’” Barresi said.

As a former first-grade teacher, Hofmeister said that third grade is not a good year to hold children back a grade.

“The evidence doesn’t support that. We need to act on evidence,” she said. “If we’re serious in our state about having third-graders reading at grade level, we need to put the emphasis and the support in place in the kindergarten, first- and second-grade years.”

Since beginning her term in 2011, Barresi has ushered in a number of educational reforms approved by the state Legislature, including the A-F school grading system, a teacher evaluation program and a third-grade reading retention law.

Many have been controversial among educators, administrators and parents, but Barresi said she is not giving in.

“Yes, I will fight against the establishment. I will fight against the unions. I am strong and I am committed to move forward with all of the reforms,” she said.

But Hofmeister, who served on the Oklahoma State Board of Education for more than a year before resigning to challenge Barresi’s re-election, said that Oklahoma education needs leadership that listens and fosters relationships.

“We don’t have that right now,” she said. “I saw missed opportunities as a board member watching how it was all unfolding. I saw missed opportunities to work with practitioners in the field, missed opportunities to work with scholarly experts.’ I saw missed opportunities to keep government small and respect local control.”

Hofmeister said that is why parents are frustrated and teachers are demoralized.

“When it comes to education, those closest to the students know them best and know their needs and the best way to serve them,” she said.

As for Barresi’s statement about fighting “against the unions,” Hofmeister said later that she continues “to be astounded at Janet Barresi’s hypocrisy exhibited in today’s debate. She continues to bash what she describes as the ‘unions,’ but Ms. Barresi literally turned our education system over to a union boss. Janet Barresi hired the chief lobbyist for the OEA, which she herself describes as the Oklahoma teacher’s union, to be her chief-of-staff.”

Both said schools need to be adequately funded, but Hofmeister charged that much of the state’s education funds are being used to “grow bureaucracy at the state Department of Education” rather than going into the classrooms.

Barresi argued that isn’t true, adding that during her term she has trimmed the agency’s overhead and administrative costs by $250,000 a month.

“The only thing that’s growing in schools is the administration. We have to take a look at funneling money back into the classroom … in a targeted and focused way,” she said.

Hofmeister also said that the state Board of Education has become a rubber-stamp for Barresi’s preferences, citing a specific instance when the board agreed to pay millions of dollars to her “vendor of choice.”

“This is an example of centralization of power and decision-making happening at the state department level. That’s not good for the economy and it’s not good for education,” she said.

Barresi refuted that charge and said all rules and regulations were followed in hiring vendors and that decisions were made in an appropriate manner.

“Our focus? The results we’re getting for the tax dollars spent,” she said. “We will continue to run the department to focus on the children of our state and the parents who love them.”