Governor appoints retired Edmond teacher to Oklahoma State Board of Education

OKLAHOMA CITY — A retired teacher is the governor’s choice to fill a long-vacant seat on the Oklahoma State Board of Education.

Gov. Kevin Stitt announced Monday he chose Becky Carson for the board position representing Congressional District 5 to a term expiring April 2, 2027. The seat has been empty for almost two years since former board member Trent Smith resigned.

Carson, of Edmond, was a special education teacher for 30 years, serving students in third through fifth grade with mild disabilities.

She also has owned multiple businesses, according to the governor’s announcement.

“I am honored to serve on the state Board of Education,” Carson said in a statement. “Throughout my career, I’ve always believed that every child deserves a chance to reach their full potential. I am committed, dependable and ready to help ensure every Oklahoma student has the opportunity to succeed.”

Her appointment to the board hinges on whether the state Senate confirms her.

She would be the third former educator among the sitting members, following state Superintendent Ryan Walters, who taught history at McAlester and Millwood high schools, and Mike Tinney, who taught history in the small Oklahoma town of Chattanooga before becoming an attorney.

“Her commitment to doing what’s best for students and her proven leadership will make her an outstanding addition to the state Board of Education,” Stitt said.

The governor tried to appoint former Trump administration official Alex Gray to the role last year, but Gray’s home senator responsible for carrying his nomination, Sen. Carri Hicks, D-Oklahoma City, declined to do so, calling him unqualified for the position. Without her support, his nomination never came up for a Senate confirmation vote and therefore failed.

It wasn’t immediately clear which of four possible senators would have to carry Carson’s nomination. Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond; Sen. Kristen Thompson, R-Edmond; Sen. Kelly Hines, R-Edmond, and Sen. Grant Green, R-Wellston, each have Edmond addresses within their districts.

Pugh said the Senate Education Committee, which he leads, and the full Senate have until the end of this year’s legislative session to consider Carson’s confirmation.

“We’ll meet with her privately so the committee has time to get to know her and ask some questions,” Pugh said.

Three other recent appointees to the board — Tinney, Chris Van Denhende and Ryan Deatherage — have taken office but also are waiting for Senate confirmation.

The senators representing Tinney and Deatherage’s home districts — Sen. Lisa Standridge, R-Norman, and Sen. Darcy Jech, R-Kingfisher, respectively — did not immediately return requests for comment on whether they intend to support the appointees’ confirmations.

Sen. Regina Goodwin, D-Tulsa, is the home senator for Van Denhende. She said her concerns with newly proposed academic standards for social studies have weighed heavily on her decision.

Van Denhende voted in favor of the social studies standards, but he later said he was unaware of controversial last-minute changes made to the final draft before he took the vote. Tinney and Deatherage also said they had no idea of the changes, which included language stating there were “discrepancies” in 2020 election results.

Van Denhende said during Thursday’s board meeting that if he knew then what he knows now, he would have voted against the standards. He told The Oklahoman he wants the Legislature to send the standards back to the board for another review.

“The process is not a good process,” Van Denhende said during Thursday’s meeting.

House and Senate Democrats filed resolutions on March 31 to reject the social studies standards and return them to the board. The Senate GOP caucus is now deliberating a similar resolution.

Goodwin said she and Van Denhende agree on the issue.

“We are in agreement that there was a failure in the standards process and the matter should be returned to the board,” Goodwin said. “Based on (his) recommendation that the matter be returned to the board, I would support his nomination.”