The Oklahoma State Board of Education may soon be expanding

A bill that would expand the size of the Oklahoma State Board of Education by four members — all appointed by the state Legislature, and not Gov. Kevin Stitt — cleared the state Senate Education Committee on Tuesday, but with a caveat.

House Bill 2562 would result in an 11-member board if signed into law. The bill received approval by an 11-2 vote, but not before its title was stricken, an amendment that could result in negotiations between Senate and House leadership being necessary before the bill could be passed.

Once the differences between the Senate and House are resolved, possibly in a joint committee, the bill’s title could be restored. Then it would need to be approved by both chambers before heading to Stitt’s desk.

Sen. Dusty Deevers, R-Elgin, and Sen. Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, voted against the bill. Spokespeople for Stitt and for state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters — who serves as a state board of education member due to his elected office — did not return messages Tuesday seeking comment on the bill.

Sen. Casey Murdock, R-Felt, is sponsoring the bill in the Senate. Before presenting it to the committee, he asked that its title be stricken, a procedural move often made on bills that might be controversial. He said he wanted the “Senate to have its fingers on it and make it a better bill.” When questioned by Sen. Dave Rader, R-Tulsa, Murdock offered two suggestions as to how.

How would the new Oklahoma State Board of Education members be chosen?

Two requirements of the bill are that one of two candidates chosen by the speaker of the house must be a former school superintendent from a district with an enrollment of less than 10,000 students, and one of the two candidates chosen by the Senate president pro tempore be a former school superintendent from a district with an enrollment of more than 10,000 students. Murdock suggested that number could be 5,000 in each case.

Murdock also said he thinks the Senate should have “advise-and-consent” power on the two nominees coming from the House, as it does with the governor’s six appointees to the board. In addition to those gubernatorial appointees, the state schools superintendent serves as a member.

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The state board was created in its current configuration in 1971 during the term of Gov. David Hall. Governors used to appoint one new member to the board each year, but that changed in 2011 after a board full of members chosen by then-Gov. Brad Henry, a Democrat, threw up logistical roadblocks during the first meeting chaired by newly elected Republican state Superintendent Janet Barresi. Now, the board turns over with new appointees with each gubernatorial administration.

While the board has seven seats, it’s operated in recent months as a six-person board, with one seat remaining open. The board members appointed by the governor serve at his pleasure after being confirmed by the Senate.

House Bill 2562 is similar to Senate Bill 1395, which was sponsored by the committee chair, Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, but wasn’t heard on the Senate floor after receiving approval by the committee. When his bill came before the committee, Pugh said, "This is the largest single appropriated agency, and I felt it was important to have some legislative oversight."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State Board of Education expansion passes committee