Gov. Kevin Stitt on Thursday called on Oklahoma lawmakers to send a state question to the ballot that would make the state superintendent of public instruction an appointed position.

Stitt announced his first appointment to the role, naming Lindel Fields of Tulsa as state superintendent. He said Oklahoma should follow most other states in allowing the governor to appoint the position rather than elect it.

“The superintendent of public instruction should be a position appointed by the governor,” Stitt said. “There are only 12 states that elect a superintendent of education, and there’s really zero correlation between outcomes in those 12 states and the others.”

Stitt pointed to past conflicts between governors and superintendents as evidence of misalignment.

“At best, we had parallel ag

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