Student's Watercolor Painting Selected In State Contest

A Latta High School student's watercolor painting of a vintage schoolhouse in Ada was selected as the winning design of a new speciality state license plate to support education. 

Sarah Skaggs, Latta High School junior, based the painting on the Jones Chapel Schoolhouse in Wintersmith Park in Ada, according to a news release Wednesday from the state department of education.

The license plate design was selected in an online vote that Oklahomans participated in. 

Skaggs' painting features the historic one-room structure that was built in 1907, the same year Oklahoma became a state. 

The Oklahoma State Department of Education received nearly 800 entries from students across the state for its License to Educate art contest, then narrowed the entries to six finalists, the OSDE said.

A total of 16,549 votes were cast online in the two-week contest period.

Skaggs, who plans to pursue a career in forensic art, created several versions of her painting before she submitted it to the contest.

“This was not my first draft, trust me. It takes time to be better, and I learned it won’t always be right the first time,” she said.

Beginning November 1, the specialty tag (plate code LE) is available for pre-order at tag agencies across the state or by visiting here. 

The license plate sells for $35 plus an additional $3 mailing fee with most of the proceeds helping to recruit and retain teachers in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma

Tax Commission must receive 100 pre-orders by May 1, 2018, to put it into production. 

The plate is the result of a recent state law authored by Sen. Stephanie Bice and Rep. Ryan Martinez aimed at curbing the state’s teacher shortage.

For more information on the License to Educate contest their website.