By Constitution Staff

Before Senator Tom Coburn's surprising decision to leave his position two years early, which set off "dominoes" for not only his post, but opened a congressional seat as well, the 2014 election season was shaping up as one of the quieter in Oklahoma history. Incumbent Republican Governor Mary Fallin and Senator Jim Inhofe are expected to coast to reelection, along with the "secondary" officers like lieutenant governor, and attorney general.

Another unusual exception is shaping up in the race for state school superintendent, with incumbent Republican Janet Barresi facing a number of challengers, both in the Republican primary and in the general election. Barresi,62, was first elected in the Republican tidal wave of 2010, and ordinarily, a race for State Superintendent of Public Instruction is not one to draw such interest.

Controversy has seemed to dog Barresi from the time of her election. Democrats, who have long held a virtual lock on the post, took umbrage at a Republican in the office. Barresi replaced longtime Democrat Sandy Garrett, who did not seek reelection in 2010. The State School Board of Education, an enclave of liberal Democrats, immediately challenged Barresi at the very first meeting, which was not surprising. What is surprising is the Republican opposition that developed early in Barresi's term, as well.

Democrats who are challenging Barresi include Dr. John Cox, 50, of Hulbert; Jack Herron, 68, of Norman; Dr. Freda Deskin, 65, of Edmond; and Dr. Ivan Holmes, 77, of Oklahoma City. Also running on the Republican side are Joy Hofmeister, 49, of Tulsa; and Brian Kelly, 50, of Edmond.

One reason that Barresi is facing such opposition, even within the Republican Party, is Barresi's strong support for the set of educational standards known as Common Core, which the Republican-dominated Legislature recently voted to repeal. In fact, about two dozen Republican legislators are actually publicly supporting Hofmeister. Common Core, praised by Democrat President Barack Obama, is widely considered by conservative activists as an attempt to implement liberal national standards into the public schools, and even in private schools.

Many Republicans were also shocked when Barresi made the former chief lobbyist for the Oklahoma Education Association (OEA) her chief of staff.

Dr. John Cox is a career educator, in his 20th year as a school superintendent and his 28th year in the field of education. He also serves as an adjunct professor of education at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah. At Northeastern, Cox teaches leadership and administration courses to aspiring principals and superintendents and educational research to master's candidates.

Cox earned a doctorate at Oklahoma State. He serves as president of the Organization of Rural Elementary Schools (with 102 member schools) and as vice-hair of the Oklahoma Schools Assurance Group (with 488 member schools). In addition, Cox co-chairs the Vision Committee sponsored by the Oklahoma State School Boards Association and the Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration.

Dr. Freda Deskin is making her own bid for superintendent of public instruction. Chairing Deskin's campaign is former First Lady Kim Henry. Henry taught at Shawnee High School before her husband Brad Henry was elected governor in 2002. Deskin has more than 40 years of education experience. She served as a teacher, principal or superintendent in public schools in Oklahoma City, Lexington, Pauls Valley and Whitebead. She was a Dean at Oklahoma City University, trained teachers at the University of Oklahoma, and also worked at Oklahoma State Department of Education. In the 1980s, Deskin was one of two Oklahoma candidates in the nationwide competition to become the first teacher in space, before the NASA Teacher in Space Project was canceled following the space shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986. Deskin is the CEO and founder of Advanced Science & Technology Education Charter Schools (ASTEC ) in Oklahoma City, one of the first charter schools in the state.

Jack Herron was fired by Barresi from his long-time position as assistant state superintendent for financial services at the State Department of Education. He currently is the government relations director for the Professional Oklahoma Educators. In addition to experience as a high school principal, coach, and teacher, he has 18 years experience as a school superintendent at Macomb, Mangum, Guthrie, and Duncan. He is also a veteran of the Air Force.

Herron is the only candidate in the race who has actually been a superintendent for a K-12 public school. He calls for local control of school districts, and emphasizes that he does not support Common Core. While believing that there should be an emphasis on math, science, and reading, Herron asserts that, "Curriculum should be well-rounded and include art, music, civics and PE."

Dr. Ivan Holmes is a longtime educator and retired college professor. Very partisan, Holmes chaired the Oklahoma Democratic Party for two years, and came out swinging in his announcement. "It's time for Oklahoma educators to take back its public schools and stop the influx of outside interest groups from discrediting and dismantling our public school system," Holmes said. Holmes asserts that public schools in Oklahoma are under attack from groups such as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the Oklahoma Chamber of Commerce. He contends that there is a national movement to destroy the credibility of public education, so charter schools can replace them.

"If they have their way, all public schools would become charter schools and the public education system we have today would be gone tomorrow. Parents are being told that public schools are failing their children, that teachers are bad, that we need to fire teachers and start over with charter schools," Holmes said. Barresi was involved in charter schools before she became state school superintendent, and Holmes' comments most likely preview the line of personal attack he will take against Barresi.

Holmes was a regent under former Governor David Boren. Holmes said he is against the current Common Core philosophy, against the way we are using standardized testing, and against charter schools.

His top campaign issue will be adequate funding for Oklahoma's public schools. "When Oklahoma ranks 49th in funding education and total budget appropriations sink to an all-time low from 38.2 percent to 33.8 percent, and educators are faced with teaching 40,000 more students with 200 million fewer dollars, something is wrong."

Holmes said another priority in his campaign is to put education back in the hands of teachers and school administrators who actually work with students every day. "I am in favor of professional educators making important decisions on education issues including when a student is qualified to move on to the next level."

Republican Joy Hofmeister, was a member of the state school board, who stepped down to make the race. She has called for stopping the "Barresi chaos," and for successful reform "through trust, respect, and collaboration."

Hofmeister has been a teacher, beginning her career in Fort Worth, while her husband attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. She has spend the past 14 years operating Kumon Math and Reading Centers, which works through parent partnerships to ensure higher academic achievement for children. Leading a staff of 40, she serves 750 students from public, private, charter, and home schools. She is earning her Master's Degree in Education Administration from OU.

Within a few minutes of taking her position on the state school board, Barresi demanded that she approve of a Barresi proposal, but Hofmeister responded that she had to review the proposal first. When Hofmeister entered the race, Barresi asked for information on Hofmeister from the Jenks school district in which Hofmester had been employed. Hofmeister opposes Common Core.

Over 20 Republican legislators have endorsed Joy Hofmeister over Janet Barresi, including Representative Gus Blackwell of Laverne, and Lewis Moore of Edmond.

Also running for the Republican nomination is Brian Kelly, 50, of Edmond. Kelly ran for the office in 2010, losing to Barresi in the Republican Primary. In that race, Barresi and Kelly disagreed on State Question 744, the proposal by the Oklahoma Education Association (OEA) requiring education funding to be increased to the regional average. It is estimated the proposal would have cost approximately one-billion dollars per year, which would have to be paid for by tax increases or spending cuts in other areas of state government. Barresi was against the proposal while Kelly supported it. He is a former history teacher and coached football at the high school, college and professional levels. Kelly holds a Masters Degree in Education Administration, Policy and Planning.

Despite intense opposition, even within her own Republican Party, Barresi is considered a strong candidate, because she is apparently a very wealthy person, having given her own campaign over $700,000 in 2010, and having already loaned her own campaign $100,000 for the 2014 campaign.