TULSA, Okla. – Former Tulsa Public Schools Board Member Dr. Jennettie Marshall has lost her bid to become Oklahoma’s next State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Marshall, a Democrat, faced Republican Robert Franklin in Tuesday’s general election.
After conceding to Franklin, Marshall said, “I’m prayerful and yet encouraged because the turnout tonight, the turnout in every place that I’ve traveled, says that people want change and they just have to stay on the battlefield for that change.”
Marshall said, “The school-to-prison pipeline is real. And we can only take control of that by actually accepting the fact that we need to change our education system, which means we need to change the way we think and we talk and we respond to education, which means better pay for teachers. It means that we need to get teachers in classrooms that are capable, competent, and prepared. And we need to move forward.”
Although unsuccessful in her campaign, Marshall said her goal was to bring a new approach to public education in Oklahoma, drawing on her experience in education, corrections and child welfare.
Marshall served 8 years on the Tulsa Public Schools Board of Education, representing District 3 from 2017 to 2025.
She also spent 17 years working in probation and parole with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections and 3 years as a child welfare investigator.
She said her experience overseeing an $800 million budget at Tulsa Public Schools gave her an understanding of both financial accountability and the needs of teachers and students.
“I know what it means to be financially accountable, but I also know what it means to be observant to the needs of our teachers and our students,” Marshall said. “So, I’m running to bring that to the table to be able to change the trajectory of education.”
One of her biggest priorities was improving teacher pay.
Marshall said starting salaries for Oklahoma teachers should be no less than $60,000 a year.
She also wanted to change the way the state prioritizes education, saying it plays a role in everything from economic development to housing and employment.
“The driver for everything is indeed education. But the emphasis, the strength of the emphasis, is not put on education,” Marshall said. “So, we need to change that.”
Marshall said Oklahoma’s low education rankings are troubling and believes the state needs to address the underlying issues contributing to those struggles.
She pointed to the state’s high female incarceration rates and the number of children being raised by grandparents and other relatives because their parents are incarcerated or unable to care for them.
Marshall’s campaign also focused on putting students first, improving teacher retention, strengthening accountability and restoring trust in public education.
