Oklahoma CareerTech board to vote on request for funding increase

OKLAHOMA CITY — A state board governing vocational learning centers could ask for a $67.87 million budget increase next year with the goal of expanding workforce training.

The Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education on Thursday presented a $249.56 million budget request for the 2028 fiscal year. The agency’s board is expected to vote next month on whether to send the proposal to the state Legislature for consideration.

“What we need is everybody to understand the confidence that we have in our system and the state should have in our system,” state CareerTech director Brent Haken said while presenting the budget proposal. “There is nobody still, even though we’ve got a lot of work to do, that shows the return on investment that we do when we get students into the program.”

Oklahoma’s 29 CareerTech centers count more than 500,000 enrollments across the state in job skill programs, adult education and K-12 courses. The state agency has asked for significant funding increases in recent years to reduce waitlists, which in 2024 counted 7,500 students.

State lawmakers appropriated more than $185 million to the CareerTech system for the current fiscal year, tens of millions of dollars less than the agency had requested.

With his latest budget ask, Haken suggested Oklahoma needs to invest far more than its current CareerTech funding levels to keep pace with other states.

“We are seeing other states make significant advancements in (CareerTech education) above what Oklahoma is doing,” he said during the meeting. “So we’re going to have to figure out how we want to play ball in that arena if we want to continue to have the system that we do.”

His proposal includes a $27.65 million increase to postsecondary workforce training, including $18.65 million in recurring funding to remove waitlists.

An additional $20 million would help “build a statewide approach” to giving more students in grades 5-12 career exposure at vocational technology centers, according to the agency’s proposal.

The agency reported 35% of all Oklahoma students in fifth through 12th grade had enrolled in a CareerTech class. Among high school juniors, that number recently surpassed 50%, Haken said.

His budget request would seek a one-time appropriation of $10 million to add more CareerTech centers in areas that don’t yet have one. 

Haken said the state took a similar approach when it expanded into Beaver County. It offered funds to start programs and support the new center for its first year so “they didn’t have to wait on tax money to come in,” he said

CareerTech centers rely on local tax revenue, state appropriations and federal funds.

“We still have significant white space across the state where we could use those dollars to bring people into the system,” Haken said. “If they do decide to come into the system, then we have a tax base that sustains it, but this would be a one-time request.”

An added $6.7 million would support curriculum costs, new programs and CareerTech student organizations, according to the proposal.

The cost of employees’ insurance benefits is expected to rise by $3.72 million, which the state is obligated to pay, Haken said.