OKLAHOMA CITY — During Ryan Walters tenure as Oklahoma’s State Superintendent, board members have consistently voted in alignment with his proposals—including controversial ones that have garnered nationwide attention.
Citing a need for “fresh eyes” and less political drama, Governor Stitt replaced three board members on Feb. 11.
During the most recent monthly meeting, Stitt’s new appointees—Ryan Deatherage, Michael Tinney, and Chris Vandenhende—repeatedly questioned Walters. It is something the public has not seen from the board.
During Walters’ comments, he notified the board that he is asking for guidance from Attorney General Gentner Drummond on whether President Trump’s executive order on immigration means federal funds can be blocked to undocumented students.
Vandenhende stepped in.
“I would respectfully request until we get this sorted out with the AG that we suspend all activity related to immigration,” he said.
Walters recently proposed to require citizenship checks in public schools. Governor Stitt has pledged to block the measure.
However, the board attorney, Michael Beason, said immigration could not be discussed during the meeting because it wasn’t an agenda item. He added that Walters is the only person allowed to approve agenda items.
Later, all three new members tried discussing how to get an item on the agenda, suggesting the board lacks any power if Walters owns control of it.
“If there is only one person who sets the agenda, how does the board get something on the agenda we want to talk about?” asked Tinney.
“If we don’t have the ability to add items to the agenda that we think are important to our oversight responsibility, we can’t perform that function,” said Vandenhende.
“There are statutes that say the superintendent has control over the board of education and the board itself,” said Beason.
“Then what are we doing here?” asked Deatherage.
2 News looked up state statutes and could not find anything specifying Walters has control over the agenda or the board. However, we did find state statutes that say the State Superintendent controls the Oklahoma Department of Education. When it comes to the board, it states he gives advice and recommendations.
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