Democrats renew Walters impeachment calls, Stitt praises OSDE staff exodus
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OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Two news reports on Thursday shed light on things happening behind-the-scenes at the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) since State Superintendent Ryan Walters took office.
Oklahoma Democrats renewed calls for Walters’ impeachment, while Governor Stitt praised a reported mass exodus of OSDE employees.
Thursday was a busy day for headlines about the OSDE and State Superintendent Ryan Walters.
The morning started with a report from The Oklahoman, revealing the number of OSDE employees who have resigned since Walters took office is now above 130.
The Oklahoman reported at least 65 of those resignations came after July.
News 4 has previously reported that the resignations included high-level employees like OSDE’s Chief of Staff, Accreditation Director and all of the agency’s attorneys.
The Oklahoman reported most of the employees’ resignation letters they obtained from a source weren’t directed at Walters himself, but a few were, including one employee who wrote they felt a “pervasive feeling of a lack of respect and trust” from OSDE leaders.
The Oklahoman reported an OSDE spokesperson told them their report was “fake news.”
“This is not sustainable,” said State Representative Mickey Dollens (D-Oklahoma City) during a segment recorded for Sunday’s upcoming episode of ‘Flashpoint’ on KFOR. “We’re calling for another investigation into the possible impeachment of Ryan Walters. This is enough. Enough is enough, it’s got stop.”
U.S. Dept. of Ed. questions whether OSDE is misusing federal money for substitute teaching program
Reporters asked Governor Stitt about the revelations during his weekly news conference Friday.
“Nobody’s left Jenks [Public Schools], nobody’s left Tulsa [Public Schools],” Stitt said. “So you’re telling me that we’ve lost 130 bureaucrats up here in Oklahoma City and we’ve still got our education system rolling across the state? It sounds like a good thing to me… I’d much rather be 130 fewer government bloat than 130 more.”
Thursday’s news cycle ended with a KFOR story about Pamela Smith-Gordon, a woman Walters hired to head up OSDE’s grants department.
Smith-Gordon described herself as a Christian, conservative republican—who couldn’t wait to work for Walters. She ended up resigning after four months.
She said Walters was absent from his office, and never met with her or other department heads.
She said it led to Oklahoma schools losing out on more than $2 million in grants – ‘schools’ she now worries may not survive the rest of his term.
“I definitely don’t think that we can survive another three years with the way it’s going now for sure,” Smith-Gordon said in her exclusive interview with News 4.
OSDE no longer has lawyers on staff according to department’s website
An OSDE spokesperson told News 4 Smith-Gordon’s allegations were “vile and inaccurate,” in his opinion.
Dollens said Smith-Gordon’s story, again, raises red flags for him and some of his fellow legislators about Walters.
“When your own staff is saying that we don’t believe rural schools may survive under this current administration, that’s when the alarms should start going off,” Dollens said.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
