Gov. Kevin Stitt made a stop at the Chandler Area Chamber of Commerce’s monthly luncheon on Aug. 11 as part of a tour marking his last year in office.
“I’m doing this 77-county tour, and I thought it’d be awesome to do it my last year just to get back around and meet all of Oklahoma again,” he said. “It feels like I’ve met all four million Oklahomans.”
Stitt recalled his tenure, starting from what inspired him to run as governor back in 2018, and discussing some of the accomplishments he was most proud of. He spoke about the teacher walkouts in 2018 and how he thought it was weird that Oklahoma couldn’t pay teachers the same as other states. This was one of the things that inspired his run.
The governor said that fast forward to today, the state went from zero savings to peaking at $5.5 billion.
“I’m turning over to the next governor a $3.7 billion savings account to protect our future. Uh, it’s just a huge change from when I started, and that’s because you elected a businessman governor,” he said, adding that teachers have been given three “huge” pay raises since he became governor.
Despite the raises, a 2026 report by the National Education Association puts Oklahoma among states with the lowest teacher salaries. The state was ranked 37th with an average teacher salary of $61,931. The U.S. average was $71,985. The NEA is the largest public education labor union in the country.
Stitt continued, saying that he cut taxes by $2 billion and put the state on a path to zero income, among other things.
The governor then took questions from participants, talking about his views on data centers, the smelter plant and bringing nuclear to Oklahoma.