State School Super. claims transparency after having to be subpoenaed for information
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KFOR) – State School Superintendent Ryan Walters claimed that the current Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) has been the most transparent in agency history, but legislators Friday disagreed.
This came just over a week after Walters received a subpoena from the Oklahoma House of Representatives asking for information within Walters’ department.
“It is not normal,” said Representative Andy Fugate when asked if it’s normal to use a subpoena to obtain information from an education agency about those who work at the education agency. “The prior three administrations; Joy Hofmeister, Janet Barresi, Sandy Garrett, all of them were open and transparent because ultimately it’s the people’s business they’re doing.”
The subpoena asked for information regarding the teacher signing bonus, how communication works within OSDE, and a few other questions about the agency.
For the most part, Walters answered some of the questions but legislators Friday said that it created more questions.
In response to the subpoena filled out by Waters, Dan Isett of the Oklahoma State Department of Education stated, “Supt. Walters is always willing to work with Speaker McCall and members of the Legislature to solve real problems in education like ending porn in schools, keeping boys out of girls’ sports, and ending teaching shortages. Walters’ ability to attract a historic number of new teachers is a big topic that the legislature should focus on, and he is hopeful the Legislature will cement that reform in place for the future.”
“It’s not with our teachers, it’s not with our curriculum, it’s not with porn or whatever else Ryan wants to talk to talk about,” said Representative Fugate. “The fundamental problem is we have kids who come to school who are hurting, who are ill-prepared, who are suffering from the challenges of a state that is so poorly managed. We no longer invest in the lives and the families here in Oklahoma.”
In response to the subpoena, Superintendent Walters listed the 950 applicants for the Teacher Signing Bonus, the program that offered a bonus as an incentive to gain more teachers.
It was noted that 578 bonuses were handed out which totaled $17,320,000. Within that 578 were 117 who were out-of-state recruited teachers by years of service that totaled $4,900,000.
The response listed school districts that fell in the 95% not performing at grade level including Oklahoma City Public Schools, Tulsa, Mid-Del, Western Heights, Muskogee, Enid, and Shawnee.
It was noted that the count from the seven mentioned totaled 97,455 students. Oklahoma had 699,102 students enrolled in 23-24.
As reported by KFOR before, Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Education Representative Mark McBride R-Moore had attempted several times to get the information contained within the subpoena and has either not gotten answers or received a response that was “disrespectful.”
| MORE LOCAL NEWS > House education subcommittee reviews subpoena response from Supt. Walters >
One undated email response to Representative McBride’s request for information came with the Oklahoma State Department of Education letterhead and read, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” That was from Walter’s campaign advisor Matt Langston.
“It’s tragic where we are today, where we require a subpoena to get basic responses from the State Department of Education,” said Representative Fugate. “Finding information from the State Department of Education has become a black hole. And that’s unfortunate for the people of Oklahoma. And you know, the legislature’s role in all of this is to serve in an oversight capacity.”
While the latest press release from Walter’s touts transparency, records have shown open records requests remained unanswered throughout the year.
In a June report, News 4 had been waiting 100 days on a single Oklahoma State Department of Education Open Records Request. State law allows it with vague language.
The House Education Subcommittee is still reviewing the unanswered questions from Oklahoma House legislators.
Chair Mark McBride said he immediately began reviewing the material provided.
I appreciate Supt. Walters’ quick compliance with the subpoena, and I have begun reviewing the delivered documents to ensure that they contain all of the information that was requested. As Chairman of the Appropriations and Budget Education Subcommittee, I exercised my power to subpoena the superintendent to produce these records, but I wish it would not have had to come to that. My focus has always been, and will continue to be, doing what is best for Oklahoma students. It is my hope that moving forward, the extreme, but sometimes necessary, process of using a subpoena will not be needed, and the superintendent will more openly and willingly communicate with members of the Legislature. The Legislative Branch is constitutionally charged with oversight of the budgets of certain departments, including the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE). Additionally, our responsibility as elected officials is to work together for the betterment of our state, not continuously fight to earn political clout or obfuscate the process of government. I will continue to review the subpoenaed documents with the hope that they fully answer the committee’s questions and give us a more complete understanding of the processes and procedures of the OSDE under Supt. Walters’ leadership. I thank him again for his swift compliance, and hope for a less adversarial working relationship in the future.
Representative Mark McBride
“All of the previous superintendents understood that the people have a right to know and understand,” said Representative Fugate.
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