Kevin Stitt Wants To Give Schools Districts More Control Over Spending

Kevin Stitt said in April he did not support tax increases tied to teacher pay raises. He's often had to explain since then he supports a competitive wage for teachers and thinks the solution for that is giving districts more control over their own spending.

Kevin Stitt talks a lot about incentives used by business to get better results. Stitt says incentives would improve education both the cost of it and the results.

"That is really important that we fix our funding formula that hasn't been fixed since Henry Bellmon was Governor," says Stitt.

The last legislative session was dominated by education, the teacher pay raise, walkout and debate over more funding. Candidate Stitt believes districts should decide how best to spend the combination of local and state tax dollars.

“We're so equalized there's no incentive to do anything more and we've got to create that balance. We can't let poor districts fall behind, but we have to incentivize districts to do more, pay their teachers better to get smaller class sizes, get smarter and invest in technology, all the things we see other states do," says Stitt.

There is a state question on the November ballot to give districts more control over spending including using property taxes for everyday costs not just for buildings.

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