Steve Metzer
Tulsa World Capitol Bureau Staff Writer
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OKLAHOMA CITY — A veteran state lawmaker from Edmond who announced Thursday that he is running for election as superintendent of public instruction said he would like to shift attention away from the one individual who holds the job and return it to the thousands of kids who depend on getting their education in public schools in Oklahoma.
Sen. Adam Pugh, a Republican who has chaired the Senate Education Committee, said he would change the “tone, tenor and style” of leadership at the Oklahoma State Department of Education.
“It’s not about me. It’s not about the title of state superintendent,” he said in remarks to reporters following his announcement at the Oklahoma History Center. “You make it not about you. You build relationships in those 500-plus school districts. You make parents feel like they are welcome, and they’re heard. You make teachers feel like their profession is valued, and you want to give them all the right resources.”
Pugh said he would also work to reestablish strong communication and relationships between local leaders and their counterparts at the Education Department and state Capitol. He said he has heard from administrators in school districts across the state who expressed that they felt cut off from communication and support from the Department of Education.
“(Working in collaboration) is insanely important. I can’t stress this enough,” he said. “No one person can get anything done at the Capitol … It is meant to work with lots of points of view. … There’s a lot of tension, but out of that tension you get good policy. You build relationships, which I think is the most important thing.”
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Asked about the relationship recently departed Superintendent Ryan Walters had with lawmakers, Pugh said that there had “certainly been challenges” brought about in part by Walters mandating major policy shifts on his own and seemingly “on a whim.”
“There’s a lot of policy things that we were actually aligned on. It was just how those things were maybe communicated, how they were articulated, how they were rolled out and implemented,” he said. “What do great leaders do? They build a great team, they set a vision and then they get out of the way… And that’s what I’ll do, and I think that will probably be a stark difference from now in policy.”
Pugh, an Air Force veteran, business owner and father of three children in public schools, has authored legislation to raise teacher pay and strengthen training for educators. He advocated for a law passed this year to remove cell phones in schools as a distraction for students. He said he has also pushed for policies to better align education outcomes with Oklahoma’s workforce needs.
As superintendent, he said a major goal would be to strengthen literacy programs, especially for elementary-age children. He would advocate for stronger teacher recruitment and training, higher pay for educators, stronger parental involvement and fiscal responsibility in education spending.
Pugh was introduced by Sen. Dave Rader, R-Tulsa, a member of the Senate Education Committee. He described Pugh as a person of “vision, intelligence and integrity” who is also willing to work hard to reach goals.
“He just has the desire to do the right thing,” Rader said.
Other Republican candidates for education superintendent include retired Bixby Superintendent Rob Miller, current Peggs Superintendent John Cox and Tahlequah resident Ana Landsaw. Former Tulsa Public Schools Board of Education members Jennettie Marshall, a Democrat, and Jerry Griffin, an independent, also are running. Retired El Reno Public Schools Superintendent Craig McVay, a Democrat, filed paperwork this week to register a campaign.
steve.metzer@tulsaworld.com
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Steve Metzer
Tulsa World Capitol Bureau Staff Writer
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