Fixing Oklahoma Education
Candidate for the office of OK State Superintendent, Dr. James Taylor
It was a simple declaration to the Tulsa County Republican Men’s Club (TRMC) that first got the crowd chuckling. At a deeper level, Dr. James Taylor illustrated the struggle in our state education system. Wednesday July 8, as a candidate for the office of Oklahoma State Superintendent, Dr. James Taylor said that contrary to his critic’s assertions, “I am actually not a white Christian nationalist.”
To a broad group of racially and age mixed mostly conservative men and women, Dr. Taylor framed parents — not the state, school districts, or churches — as the primary owners of a child’s education. Further Dr. Taylor argues that classroom transparency and parental notification are non-negotiable as are literacy and math, with specific pushes for phonics, cursive writing, and insistence on grade-level reading.
“It is not the [federal] government’s responsibility to educate our kids. It is not the State of Oklahoma’s responsibility to educate our kids. It is not the school district’s responsibility to educate our kids. It is not even the church’s responsibility to educate our kids. It is the parents’ responsibility to educate their kids. It’s the parents who determine where they’re going to put their kids in public school, private school, home-school, charter school or whatever they want. That is the parent’s decision and parents are responsible.
“We have school districts that are telling parents, don’t come into my classroom and see what’s being taught in this class. We have school districts that say, kids can call themselves by whatever pronoun they want, and we’re not going to tell parents what’s going on. That stuff must stop. I was told and I still can’t believe this true, but in our great state that there are furries [children identifying as animals] in schools that have set up litter boxes for kids to use on campus, that’s a mental illness. Those kids need to be in proper treatment, and their parents need some help too. Because if the parents are assisting in that, that’s a little bit of concern,” he said.
Thus Dr. Taylor illustrates difference without mentioning his opponent (an owned tool of the Oklahoma Political Education Complex) who preaches against parents, faith, and merit-based education accomplishment in very polite terms.
Dr. Taylor has taught history and government in public high school for the last eighteen years and has served as Senior Pastor of First Christ’s Church of Norman, Oklahoma since 1977. He authored the book, “It’s Biblical, Not Political” and produced a DVD, “Critical Race Theory vs. The Bible” which exposes the lies of CRT being taught in the political public education system. This is why the Leftist leaning establishment hates him so much.
“My superintendent told me I have to tell everybody this wherever I go, so I am going to tell everybody this: The first week of school, all my kids will have an ‘A’ on their assignment. And so, I tell them, “Hey, I am going to call your parents this weekend.” And their eyes get big as saucers; they’re scared. I said, “No, I am going to call and brag upon you.” They don’t know what to do with that. So, I then call their parents and say, “Hey, I am Doctor James Taylor; I have your child in early U. S. History and government, and they have an ‘A’ in my class, and I anticipate they’ll continue to do ‘A’ work,” Dr. Taylor said.
“In eighteen years, every single year I hope this year will be different. Every single year I hear every parent say, ‘you are the first teacher that’s called and says something positive about my child.’
“When I call these parents, it creates a positive relationship with the parents and a positive relationship with child,” Taylor added.
“Now here is the deal: why this is so important. What would happen if we could get ten percent of our teachers across our great state to call and brag to the parents on their kids? Would that have a positive or negative impact? I believe it is positive,” Dr. Taylor declared.
He notes that low salaries, compared to neighboring states, plus low public confidence in the education system has contributed significantly to Oklahoma’s teacher shortages. In a recent poll, confidence in the Oklahoma education System has dropped from 41 percent in 2024, to 31 percent in 2025.
However, since 2018, the per-pupil public school revenue increased by over 51 percent. Dr. Taylor reports what most parents know, this massive funding increase has not achieved academic excellence. The academic outcome has steadily declined, something that the Oklahoma Political Education Complex is trying to hide in this race by slandering Dr. Taylor, minimizing his background and demonizing his beliefs.
The positives of Dr. Taylor’s campaign for State Superintendent acknowledge the critical role of education in shaping the future of individuals and society. He believes knowledge is the great equalizer, empowering individuals with confidence and self-esteem. He agrees that a large part of the process is socialization and learning how to get along with others. Dr. Taylor asserts that education is the pathway to prosperity, imparting critical communication, teamwork and functional skills to help improve emotional intelligence.
After his formal remarks to the TCRMC, one of the first questions was about school employees who have been inappropriate to students.
Dr. Taylor said, “That is repugnant to me. And that’s something that the culprits are the school districts in allowing those accused to quietly transfer to another district. The reason is they don’t want publicity so they allow this person to just resign. And then they go on to down the street and get hired. I have begun putting together a database. (I don’t know why we don’t have this now.) So that when I get started, that database will be available so that we can track where these [bad actor employees] are operating. And then I’m going to connect with the legislators so that we can actually put some teeth in laws that prohibit abusive activity. If a school district allows bad behavior and then passes on the trash, that school district will be held accountable.”
Another audience member asked, “I am curious if you are documenting the damage the education industrial establishment is doing?”
Dr. Taylor answered, “When we do the audit, we’ll find out where the money went. Transparency is a healthy thing. In this office, it is an arena where you’ve got a mess going on and if you don’t deal with that, then that mess continues and it infiltrates the whole field.”
Another audience member quired, “So going around right now on all the news stations, you are not qualified. Can you explain your job history? Will you break all of that down for people that are uneducated on your career?”
Dr. Taylor answered, “Happy to do that. My Doctorate is in ministry. And yes, I had extensive administrative classes. That is part of the process. The principles are the same. You must deal with finance as well as curriculum. The principles are the same, whether I am in the pulpit or whether I am in the classroom. Teaching is teaching. Whether I am teaching the word of God or whether I am teaching the Constitution, teaching is teaching. The audience is the only difference.
“I’ve shared a little bit about my classroom experience and what the teachers, parents, my superintendent and my kids say. That’s real stuff. My opponent hasn’t been in a classroom for over thirty years. I am going to tell you: a classroom in the eighties and nineties is not the classroom of 2026. It is not even close.
“My opponent is pushing the point that he’s got experience in special ed, but our son is level three Autistic - a special needs child so I am living and teaching special needs every single day,” Dr. Taylor explained.
“The other thing the other side is saying is that I am ‘Ryan Walters 2.0.’ To attack me they associate me with Ryan Walters. I am not trying to distance myself from him. I am not trying to embrace him because I am not Ryan Walters. I am James Taylor. The reality is, we are not the same. He has hair; I do not. My tan is better than his,” Dr. Taylor said.
“Student mental health is one of these issues that wasn’t so prevalent thirty or forty years ago in the classroom. Now, kids are struggling with a whole lot of things. A lot of it has to do with parental involvement or the lack of parental involvement. And we all know that the more parental involvement you have, the better your students do in class.
“My administration is going to focus on parental involvement. More than just talking about it but engaging the parents. My philosophy is we must engage them. A lot of teachers don’t like this because it takes a lot of time. But I promise you the upfront time pays off down the road,” Dr. Taylor declared.
For more information on Dr. James Taylor, click here for his website and for his Facebook Page, click here. He may also be reached by email at taylorriot@yahoo.com. The Tulsa County Republican Men's Club meets the second Wednesday of each month at the Oklahoma Joe's BBQ at 61st and Sheridan.
About the author: David Arnett’s beginning in print journalism was not planned in 1985 but covered by the Columbia Journalism Review in 1987. After 11 years in print, he established TulsaToday online in 1996 and Straight Up on Substack in 2022 providing email subscriptions. In April 2026, he began the YouTube Channel, Straight Up Dave. Arnett is identified nationally as a “Veteran Oklahoma Political Journalist” and locally as an “Equal Opportunity Aggravator.”
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Nice picture too.