When lawmakers approved the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit Act in 2023, providing refundable tax credits to help pay for private school tuition, opponents argued it would benefit only wealthy urban families.

Rural communities don’t have private schools, and rural families aren’t interested in new educational opportunities, opponents argued.

But private schools that have launched in rural Oklahoma in recent years say the program has made private schools a viable option for many low-income families.

At Grace and Truth Academy in Blanchard, which opened its doors in 2022, more than half of students benefited from the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit program this year.

The school currently serves students through first grade but is adding a grade each year. Tuition at Grace and Truth Academy is just $5,000 per student, but even that low sum would be out of reach for some families.

“For the older grades, I would say half of those students it would have been a problem,” said Greg Ray, director of Grace and Truth Academy.

Julia Miller, principal/teacher at Great Plains Christian School in Chickasha, said the same thing is true for many families in her area, even though her school’s tuition is also just $5,000 per child.

“A lot of people in this area really can’t afford the tuition,” Miller said. “That’s what we’ve been running into with new families that want to come. They just really can’t afford it.”

Miller said several families who have expressed interest have income of around $30,000 per year.

“They can barely pay their bills on that, much less tuition,” Miller said.

Great Plains Christian School in Chickasha recently received accreditation from the state, making its students’ families eligible when the next round of parental choice tax credits is awarded next year.

Under the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit Act, families can receive refundable tax credits to cover the cost of private school. The program provides credits of $5,000 to $7,500 per child with the largest tax credits given to the lowest-income families. Families earning up to $75,000 qualify for the $7,500 tax credit.

According to the Oklahoma Tax Commission, roughly 36,000 applications were submitted for the school-choice program in its first year.

By 2025, the program can provide up to $250 million in tax credits annually.

The tax credit program allows families to access a private-school education at a far lower taxpayer cost than what would be spent on those same children in a traditional public school. The $5,000 per student tuition at both Grace and Truth Academy and Great Plains Christian School is a fraction of the per-pupil funding in Oklahoma’s public schools.

According to Oklahoma State Department of Education data from the Oklahoma Cost Accounting System, public school district expenditures in 2023 (the most recent available) totaled $9,538,453,992, and enrollment in the 2022-2023 school year totaled 701,066 students. That means Oklahoma public schools had an average of $13,605 per student that year.

Quality Education in a Christian Environment

While rural private schools may not have as many bells and whistles as traditional public schools, which often spend substantial sums on athletic facilities rather than core classroom functions, rural private schools are nonetheless able to provide a quality education.

At Great Plains Christian School, Miller previously worked in public schools for 18 years. She also taught at James Caraway Christian Academy, a rural private school that operated for many years in the Chickasha area before closing when one of its founders retired.

Miller sought to essentially relaunch the school and worked with the Caraways to lease the former academy school building for Great Plains.

“I love it out here,” Miller said. “It’s just so peaceful and it’s just a great place for kids to learn.”

Great Plains Christian School also has a part-time special-education teacher who previously worked in special education in California and New York for over 20 years.

Although he is a retired Air Force pilot, Ray also previously worked as a P.E. teacher and coach in a local public school before helping launch Grace and Truth Academy in Blanchard. Several teachers at Grace and Truth Academy have many years of experience as public-school teachers before joining the private school.

Miller said local families in rural areas often seek private school because of the smaller class size, noting that Great Plains Christian School’s plan caps classes at a ratio of 10 students to one teacher.

“As a public-school teacher, I’ve had 24, 25 kids in one class, and you just can’t give them nearly the attention they need to help them academically or even get to know who the kids are,” Miller said.

Families are not only interested in their children receiving greater academic help, but also appreciate the chance to have their children taught in a Christian environment, Miller said. She noted concerns about bullying are on the rise elsewhere.

Ray said the combination of small class sizes and a Christian education is the main draw for many local families in his area.

Now, thanks to the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit Act, private school is achievable for many of those families.

“It’s going to open the door for a lot more families that just wouldn’t be able to afford it,” Ray said.