For a state that grossly underfunds its K-12 schools, Oklahoma sure squanders a lot of energy and taxpayer money on schemes to divert public dollars into private education.

Latest example: Attorney General Mike Hunter’s decision to join a U.S. Supreme Court battle aimed at reversing a Montana ruling that blocked parochial school students from receiving state tax credit scholarship funds.

Hunter clearly is not defending the rights of the vast majority of Oklahomans who in a 2016 statewide vote expressed strong support for the state constitution’s ban on spending public dollars for religious purposes.

Nor is he acknowledging the will of Oklahomans who in 2018 demanded higher taxes to bolster education funding, supported a two-week teacher walkout, and then booted 12 incumbent lawmakers deemed insufficiently supportive of public ed.

Instead, Hunter is deploying the taxpayer-funded resources of his office to carry water for a small, but well-organized group dedicated to monetizing education – in effect, exploiting the great American common good for profit.

Hunter spins his role in far loftier terms, of course, depicting it as a fight against religious discrimination – one joined by 17 other state attorneys general.

“The ruling by the Montana Supreme Court discriminates against and punishes parents who choose to send their children to religious schools,” he said. “If upheld, it has far-reaching consequences that could threaten school choice programs nationwide, depriving religious, low income and disabled children of a quality education of their choice. My colleagues and I encourage the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse this decision for the benefit of the families across the nation who rely on these programs.”

Those working to monetize public education are worried that if the Montana ruling is upheld, it could spell trouble for two Oklahoma laws, including one that allows publicly funded scholarships to underwrite private education for students with disabilities.

Scholarships sound so very noble. Let’s call them what they are: vouchers.

Legislators created the first voucher program in 2010 – the Lindsay Nicole Henry Scholarship, named for former Gov. Brad Henry’s late daughter. In the last five years, the state Department of Education budget for the program has jumped from $3.5 million to $8 million.

To be sure, that is a miniscule portion of an $8 billion fiscal year 2020 education budget. But it’s what the growth represents for future public school funding that is disconcerting.

The Henry scholarship was but the first case of the voucher camel slipping its nose under the taxpayers’ tent. One year later, the Legislature added the Oklahoma Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship Act – which provided tax credits (think: Montana) to individuals or corporations that donate to a so-called scholarship granting organization (SGO).

According to the Oklahoma Policy Institute, three SGOs emerged: the Opportunity Scholarship Fund (closely affiliated with the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs), which primarily grants scholarships to students attending Christian schools; the Catholic Schools Opportunity Scholarship Fund; and the Islamic School Foundation.

How does it affect public school funding when SGO donations are steered into private education? Simple. Donors can collect a generous tax credit – which reduces tax dollars available to spend on Oklahoma’s K-12 schools.

The Legislature threatened to make matters worse last spring, but public ed proponents derailed efforts to hike the tax credits from a $5-million-per-fiscal-year max to between $20 million and $60 million.

To me, Hunter’s reasons for intervening in the Montana case ring hollow. A more accurate take was offered on social media by the pro-public ed Pastors for Oklahoma Kids: “Montana was on the right side of religious liberty. Defend our Oklahoma churches from government overreach. God doesn’t need government bailouts.”

Arnold Hamilton is editor of The Oklahoma Observer; okobserver.org.