The district is expecting a $6 million reduction in state aid next year.
An Oklahoma school district projected to lose $6 million in state aid next year is being criticized for recently paying nearly $23,000 to leftwing groups for diversity and equity training for its staff.
In October, Norman Public Schools, a district about 20 miles south of Oklahoma City, signed a $3,000 contract with Factuality LLC for a single 90-minute virtual course “that simulates structural inequality in America,” according to documents reviewed by National Review.
Also in October, the district agreed to pay $10,000 to the Anti-Defamation League for two “A World of Difference” training sessions – minimum 100 attendees at each session and 200 maximum. And in April the district agreed to pay $9,750 to She+ Geeks Out, for a training session for up to 30 people on diversity, equity, inclusion and “unconscious bias in the workplace,” along with 65 annual licenses for an online course.
The spending was called out by Parents Defending Education, which received the three contracts as part of a Freedom of Information Act request. Parents Defending Education is a newly-formed nonprofit fighting classroom indoctrination and activist-driven agendas in schools.
Norman Public Schools has seen its official enrollment count drop by about 1,800 students this year. According to a February article in The Norman Transcript, the district is expecting a $6 million reduction in state aid next year, or $200 less per student compared to last year.
A spokesman for Norman Public Schools did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
“Striving for social justice, being culturally aware and achieving equity for all are integral to the values we hold as a district,” Stephanie Williams, the district’s executive director of diversity, equity, and inclusion, said after she was promoted to the position last summer.
Nicole Neily, president of Parents Defending Education, said in an email that her organization began looking into Norman Public Schools after being contacted by a parent in the district.
“It’s disappointing that districts across the country are choosing to spend their finite budgets on training sessions that further divide members of the community,” Neily said.
According to its website, Maryland-based Factuality LLC offers 90-minute interactive courses where trainees roleplay as one of eight diverse characters, and they must react to “a series of fact-based advantages and limitations on the intersection of their race, class, gender, sexual orientation, faith, and age.”
Massachusetts-based She+ Geeks Out has a mission to “abolish inequity in the workplace,” in part by providing “tech and tech-adjacent women and other marginalized genders and their allies an opportunity to network and connect with each other as well as with companies who wish to hire them,” according to its website.
In addition to supporting companies in their diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, She+ Geeks Out also advocates for intersectionality in the climate change fight, and instructs people on what to do when their favorite artists or celebrities turn out to be “problematic.” On its website, She+ Geeks Out notes that it was founded on “land that is the traditional territory of the Massachusett and Pawtucket tribes,” and acknowledges that “we ourselves still perpetuate and contribute to various forms of historical and present oppression.”
The organization encourages people to “learn more about the lands you are currently on and reflect on your own place in this work.”
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