Governor Stitt Releases Report by Secretary Dan Hamlin to Strengthen Oklahoma School Finance and Support Classroom Instruction
OKLAHOMA CITY (August 12, 2026) - Governor Kevin Stitt released a report today prepared by Dan Hamlin during his time as Secretary of Education, pursuant to Executive Order 2026-12. The report offers recommendations to strengthen transparency, effectiveness, and accountability in Oklahoma’s investments in its public education system.
The report comes as Oklahoma school districts continue to seek additional education funding despite holding substantial unspent balances.
"The people of Oklahoma expect every education dollar to reach the classroom and make a difference for kids, not get lost in bureaucracy or sit idle in bank accounts,” Governor Stitt said. “This report demonstrates that there is work to do on how we allocate and spend education funds. Dan Hamlin did a great job on this report during his time as Secretary of Education, and I hope it spurs further discussion for continued reforms in our education system.”
The report highlights several areas for improvement, including:
1) Exempting districts from excess-carryover penalties when carryover funds or interest earnings are used for teacher compensation and allowing districts to establish restricted endowment funds dedicated to teacher compensation;
2) Prohibiting districts from receiving SDE-approved waivers from the state’s minimum instructional-day requirement unless they receive an A rating on the state report card; and
3) Developing a strategy to reduce the growing funding disparity between school districts and brick-and-mortar public charter schools.
The report documents that total district carryover balances grew from $2.8 billion in 2019 to about $4.5 billion in 2025, with carryover reaching roughly 30 percent of annual public-school revenue. Between 2019 and 2025, the share of districts with carryover at 40 percent or more of annual revenue doubled from 8 percent to 16 percent. Over the same period, districts reported more than $25 billion in cumulative year-end carryover balances and roughly $359 million in interest income.
The report also highlights substantial variation in the number of in-person instructional days offered by school districts. In a review of 12 district calendars, in-person instructional days ranged from 141 to 172 days, a difference of 31 days in a single year.
“Over a student’s 13-year K–12 education, the gap between some districts in Oklahoma amounts to more than two full years of in-person learning for students. For the education system to create opportunity for all young people, it is critical that our students receive the full number of in-person instructional days each year,” said Secretary Hamlin.
The report finds significant discrepancies between some districts’ school calendars published on their websites and figures reported to OSDE, underscoring the need for more consistent statewide reporting and random audits of district calendars.
The report’s findings also align with House Bill 3151, a measure that would increase the minimum number of instructional days for certain public schools while maintaining current instructional-hour requirements. Now law, this will help ensure students receive more consistent in-person instructional time across Oklahoma.
Secretary Hamlin’s report is intended to be an annual analysis establishing an ongoing precedent for the Office of the Secretary of Education to review selected components of Oklahoma’s school finance system and present policy recommendations to the Governor and legislative leaders. In the report, Secretary Hamlin cautions that OEQA, OSDE, school leaders, and state lawmakers should evaluate each proposal’s fiscal, legal, and administrative implications and, as necessary, make refinements before initiating action.
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