By Constitution Staff

Conservative resentment against the Republican state School Superintendent Janet Barresi grew with the recent appointment of the chief lobbyist of the liberal Oklahoma Education Association (OEA), Joel Robison, as the new chief of staff at the state department of education.

Robison replaced Jennifer Carter, who did not return from maternity leave after Carter called superintendents of two large school districts "dirtbags."

Robison also served as the associate executive director of OEA. He had previously held and elected position with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Oklahoma branch. He had been with the OEA since 2000.

Republicans have had a long running feud with the OEA, dating back to the election of Oklahoma's first Republican governor, Henry Bellmon, in 1962. OEA has long been seen as a de facto arm of the Democrat Party in Oklahoma, routinely endorsing Democrats in practically every political race in the state.

Several years ago, the OEA endorsed every single Democrat in every single legislative race, even against public school teachers who were running on the Republican ticket. During the Reagan Administration, the National Education Association (NEA) adopted a resolution condemning U.S. support for the anti-communist contras, fighting to overthrow the Marxist-Leninist Sandinista government of Nicaragua. When the Oklahoma Constitution newspaper contacted a vice president of the state OEA about this, and asked why an education organization would take a position on an issue so clearly having nothing to do with education, her answer was that there were school children in Nicaragua.

Barresi gushed praise on the former union lobbyist, saying, "I spent a lot of time visiting with him about my philosophy and he is totally on board with all the initiatives we have in the department."

The non-union teacher association, Professional Oklahoma Educators, saw the appointment differently, with executive-director Ginger Tinney calling it a "head scratcher." She said that the new chief of staff was not a conservative.

In 2010, the OEA strongly supported passage of State Question 744, a ballot initiative funded by the NEA. SQ 744 would have required Oklahoma to move to the regional average for teachers' salaries. The proposal was defeated by over 80 percent of the vote, with even liberal Democrat Governor Brad Henry opposing the measure as a fiscal disaster for the state.

Yet, the chief lobbyist of the OEA who worked for the passage of this radical proposal is Republican Barresi's choice as her chief lobbyist.

Since taking office, Barresi has taken positions at odds with Republicans on several issues. The venerable McCarville Report quoted Barresi, who said that, "No Child Left Behind in itself has been a positive, bipartisan reform for our nation. But it's clear that states need more flexibility under the law." Many conservatives fail to see what constitutional authority exists for No Child Left Behind, regardless of any flexibility given to the states.

Barresi has sought a waiver from the No Child Left Behind Act, which was adopted at the urging of Republican President George W. Bush. This waiver will allow Oklahoma schools to evaluate schools in a modified way from national requirements. Even with the waiver, education standards will be those developed by a consortium of states, and will replace Oklahoma's Priority Academic Student Skills (PASS) in 2014. Many teachers lament that each new "reform" is supposed to be the breakthough reform, and predict this will not be the last educational fad.

According to Jenni White with Restore Oklahoma Public Education (ROPE), Barresi urged Governor Mary Fallin to apply for a federal grant to provide more free pre-K programming to children in Oklahoma. While alloting $10 million for pre-K programming to be matched with a grant from the liberal Kaiser Family Foundation, Barresi said the state could not afford to honor $5,000 per year stipends promised to teachers with National Board Certification. This was despite these teachers working extra hours, and spending their own funds in expectation that they would be compensated for their work.

The Oklahoma Republican Party platform stands in stark contrast with Barresi's actions. The platform reads, "The imposition of national curricula, aptitude testing, and teaching certification or education standards on any Oklahoma school is not acceptable," adding that, "To comply with the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the Federal Department of Education should be eliminated and its functions transferred to the states, local communities, and parents."

White also directed the Oklahoma Constitution to the "less rigid" national platform, which reads, "We reject a one-size-fits-all approach."

"So it appears I must take the position of Republican heretic and ask,Where does Dr. Barresi stand on the political spectrum? As a voter/supporter, I surely don't feel I got what I thought I would get during her campaign because I can't in fact answer that question based on her actions since taking office. I must at this point urge EVERY Oklahoma Republican to ask themselves to ask themselves this question," White added. "I must say I won't be surprised if more than a few of you feel like me."

White indicated to the Oklahoma Constitution that she has heard discussion of a Republican primary opponent for Barresi in 2014. The Oklahoma Constitution will closely monitor the activities of Superintendent Barresi over the next two years.