CareerTech seeks $19 million in recurring funds, promises continued program expansion

Director Hagan, head of Oklahoma CareerTech, told the Appropriations Subcommittee on Education that the agency is seeking an additional $19 million in recurring funds over what it received last year and urged lawmakers to convert recent one‑time appropriations into base funding.

The request is aimed primarily at expanding career‑training program capacity, keeping pace with rising operating costs and addressing an active waitlist. "My hope is that you understand or see the need to make that part of our base funding," Director Hagan said during the hearing.

CareerTech told the committee it used $28.6 million in new state dollars in FY2025 to expand apprenticeships and other programs. Director Hagan said the dollars leverage significant local matching funds — she estimated $28.6 million of state program funding translates into about $60 million when local dollars are included — and reported record enrollments for the second consecutive year.

Nut graf: Lawmakers heard officials describe program growth, a persistent waitlist and plans to revise the agency's long‑standing funding formula so state dollars follow students rather than always following program counts.

Most of CareerTech's presentation focused on enrollment, program types and where new dollars would be spent. Director Hagan said 9% growth had been achieved the prior year and that some programs — STEM and family/consumer sciences in particular — have grown rapidly. She said the agency currently trains about 1,700 incarcerated individuals and requested $450,000 to expand incarcerated‑individual training, citing a 5% recidivism rate for the program.

On funding mechanics, Hagan described the existing equalization formula: state aid is weighted by local ad valorem capacity and by program counts, with statutory factors that also consider number of campuses, transportation and student services. She told senators the formula had not been revised in many years and that CareerTech has hired an auditor and is working with a committee of superintendents to produce a new, more student‑focused model. "We ran a different formula last year with the money that you gave. We looked at student service, highest at which about 50%... The new funding that we're working through that we think we will have done this spring is gonna be focused the same way," Hagan said.

Committee members pressed for details on how the formula would change and how one‑time funds were spent. Hagan said the one‑time dollars were allocated to a timeline so districts could stand up new programs and hire instructors; she reported CareerTech removed about 2,500 students from its waitlist this year but that demand nonetheless rose. She told the panel Moore‑Norman Technology Center used one‑time dollars to launch a cosmetology program and immediately enrolled a record number of students.

Lawmakers also questioned CareerTech about geographic equity and how state aid interacts with local property tax bases. Senator Borden noted districts with higher local ad valorem can appear to be "penalized" because they receive a smaller percentage of state funds; Hagan said the forthcoming formula will aim to be more equitable and more nimble, allowing board‑level adjustments without needing statutory change for every tweak.

Director Hagan asked the subcommittee to make last session's one‑time funding recurring, saying the agency could reach an estimated 6,400 students with the requested increase and that the broader five‑year goal is to increase full‑time program enrollments by 10,000. She cited a University of Cincinnati study showing an economic return to the state from CareerTech investments (figures reported by CareerTech in testimony). "Every dollar that you put in, it's 9.39 back to the economic output," Hagan said.

Ending: Committee members said they would continue to review CareerTech's proposal and formula revision work; the chair encouraged members to engage staff for follow‑up and thanked Director Hagan for attending.