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Four new members were appointed to the state Board of Education in January, but one has yet to attend a meeting. Some have questioned whether appointee Marla Hill is eligible to serve her district.

Gov. Kevin Stitt appointed Hill, 54, to the board, along with three other new members, as state Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters took office. Hill homeschools her five children, and she and her husband founded a book publishing company in Kingfisher.

She was appointed to represent Congressional District 3, which covers northwest Oklahoma, including Kingfisher. On her application, she listed an address in Kingfisher County but also listed her state senator as Adam Pugh, who serves Edmond. Hill owns a home in Edmond, property records show.

After Hill missed her second meeting in February, a reporter asked Walters where she has been. Walters said he didn’t know.

On Thursday, the governor’s office confirmed Hill resigned and was replaced by Katie Quebedeaux, of Guymon. She’s an administrator at Faith Learning Center, a child care center in Guymon.

Hill, on her application, wrote that she’s suited for the board position because she wants to see the state and country “return to our biblical Judeo-Christian roots” and “the public schools return to a true liberal education where they learn the Word of God and prayer begins and ends every day in schools.”

None of the current board members have been an educator or superintendent of a public school. That lack of experience is something state Rep. Mark McBride wants to address.

McBride, who chairs the House education budget committee, filed legislation to expand the board from 7 members to 11, authorizing leaders of the House and Senate to appoint two members each — a resident of rural Oklahoma and a former school superintendent from a district with fewer than 10,000 students.

The governor would retain authority to appoint six board members.

What do you think about the proposal? Reach out via email or direct message.

— Jennifer Palmer

Recommended Reading

• Governors across the country are calling for better pay for teachers, school choice expansion and more, according to an analysis of 39 governors’ State of the State speeches. [The 74]
• Gov. Stitt strongly disagrees with the attorney general’s legal position on Catholic leaders’ proposed online school. [Tulsa World]
• A new resource provides step-by-step information for college students navigating a sexual assault. [The 19th]
• Edmond Public Schools is looking into allegations of bullying after a 15-year-old freshman baseball player died by suicide. [The Oklahoman]

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