Proposals to contract out school support services are, unfortunately, nothing new in districts across the country. But a plan to contract out a district’s entire array of services to one general contractor would be privatization on an entirely new scale. That’s what school board members are considering in Oklahoma City, where it seems that the AFT’s PSRP affiliate is constantly fending off ill-advised contracting proposals.

“This is one of the most serious proposals to contract out services that I’ve ever seen,” says Nancy Van Meter, who monitors such efforts through the AFT Privatization Center.

The Oklahoma City proposal followed the passage last year of a large school bond issue that funded everything from purchasing new buses to renovating old schools. A facilities committee created after the bond passage put together the proposal, which school board chair Cliff Hudson—who is CEO of the Sonic fast food drive-in chain—is pushing hardest. The plan would allow the district to hire one overall contractor to manage the services, and that contractor could then subcontract out services to any number of other companies.

David Gray, president of the Oklahoma City Federation of Classified Employees and an AFT vice president, has repeatedly pressed Hudson and other board members on the rationale behind what would be a huge change in district operations. While its supporters say privatization would increase efficiency and employee quality, money may be a driving issue—but not money to improve school services.

AFT research revealed that Hudson’s company has business ties to Sodexho, a giant services conglomerate that is bidding for the contract. It turns out that the two companies signed an agreement last year to open Sonics in Sodexho-run facilities around the country.

In a press conference calling on Hudson to resign, Gray said the board chair showed “complete disdain for his fellow school board members and the people of Oklahoma City. The school board should end its misguided effort to contract out the jobs of honest, hardworking school employees.”

In addition to publicizing information about Hudson’s business connections, the union has educated board members and the public about the multitude of problems that have arisen with private contractors in other districts, including hiring convicted sex offenders because of lax background checks and cutting corners on food safety. The union campaign also has mobilized members, reached out to allies across the community and inspired lots of people to call and write school board members.

The school board had been scheduled to vote on the proposal at its Nov. 3 meeting but that vote has been postponed. Gray is optimistic that the various efforts will pay off in the end. “We have a groundswell of support,” he says. “We’re doing everything we need to to stop this.”