Democrats renew call for investigation into impeaching Ryan Walters

For the second time this year, Democrats in the Oklahoma House of Representatives called for an investigation of state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters.

In a media statement, the House Democratic Caucus called on Speaker Charles McCall to create a special bipartisan committee to investigate the possible impeachment of Walters. The caucus made a similar request in late August.

"The situation has worsened,” said Rep. Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City. “Financial mismanagement and the inability to access information to do their jobs has caused essential employees and cabinet-level officials to resign, taxpayer dollars may have been used for campaigning and Superintendent Walters has vowed to dismantle the very agencies that help fund our public schools."

Munson, the House minority leader, said more than 100 school districts "have yet to receive final approval from OSDE on federal program funding, and jobs in our schools hang in the balance."

"This is clearly willful neglect of duty and incompetency — both grounds for impeachment. The time to act is now," she said.

Messages sent to McCall's spokesman Daniel Seitz asking for a response, were not returned.

On Aug. 29, House Democrats sent McCall a letter requesting the speaker create a special bipartisan House committee to investigate whether sufficient grounds existed to impeach Walters.

Because the request was denied, the superintendent has been empowered and emboldened to continue to defund and dismantle our public education system because he knows he won’t be held accountable, Munson said.

The Democrats' latest call for an investigation comes at the same time as a public clash between Walters, Matt Langston, his chief of staff, and state Rep. Mark McBride, the chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Education.

McBride, a Republican from Moore, issued a scathing press release last week which said he'd received a “childish” response from Walters’ top adviser because he and Rep. Rhonda Baker had asked for information from the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

"Throughout the last year, my colleagues and I have tried to find numerous ways to work with OSDE leadership as we chart a path forward for education in our state,” McBride said. “Our efforts have been met with standoffishness, immaturity and a total lack of transparency and accountability on the part of Superintendent Walters and his advisor Matt Langston.”

Democrats echoed McBride's complaints.

“Where have all these dollars gone? The total lack of transparency is ongoing and alarming,” Rep. Melissa Provenzano said. “As a former school administrator, I know that the public deserves every taxpayer dollar to be accounted for when it comes to our public schools."

Provenzano, D-Tulsa, said she plans to file legislation to require the state Education Department to submit quarterly reports to the legislature detailing all spending made with state and federal dollars, along with the rationale for those expenditures.

"We must act now, though, to investigate the possible violations made by state Superintendent Walters. The longer we wait, the worse it gets," she said.

Provenzano's colleague, Rep. Mickey Dollens, D-Oklahoma City, confirmed he was working on legislation that would tie Walter's pay as state school superintendent to his performance outcomes on grant application and other metrics. Dollens, an Oklahoma City Democrat, said he expected to have that measure filed before the Christmas holiday.

Thursday, the media outlet Oklahoma Voice reported that millions of dollars in federal funds have yet to be paid to Oklahoma school districts by the department. The schools complained to the state Education Department but the agency, the outlet said, "has had significant delays in processing their claims."

A survey of 184 Oklahoma districts found 72% had not received any of their claims for federal funds by mid-November, Oklahoma Voice reported. That means districts had either spent money and not been reimbursed or their plans to use federal funds were on hold.

Walters' spokesman Dan Isett downplayed the problem. “It is not surprising that the most liberal education group only polled a third of (Oklahoma school districts), presumably the most left-leaning, in a pathetic attempt to shame OSDE and Supt. Walters,” Isett said in a statement.

While lawmakers on both sides continue to wrestle with issues regarding Walters, pressure to examine the struggling education department continues to grow. Legislators will return to the Capitol in February for the second session of the 59th Oklahoma Legislature.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma Democrats call for investigation into Ryan Walters