A group of Republicans in the Oklahoma House of Representatives called for an impeachment inquiry into Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters.
Walters gained national attention in February when he publicly called for the resignation of an elementary school principal who performed in drag and had been previously arrested for child pornography. Walters also appointed Chaya Raichik, the creator of Libs of TikTok, to the Oklahoma State Department of Education’s Library Media Advisory Committee.
Now a group of more than 20 Republicans have asked Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall to launch an impeachment investigation into Walters. Representative Mark McBride sent a letter to McCall this week to express his concerns about the superintendent’s actions.
“Since Superintendent Walters took office 18 months ago, I have grown increasingly concerned about the budget performance, spending priorities, and transparency surrounding the Department,” wrote McBride, who chairs his chamber’s Appropriation and Budget Subcommittee on Education. “Conditions at the Department, the manner in which the Superintendent and the Board of Education have treated members of the Legislature from both parties and from both the House of Representatives and the State Senate has been, to say the least, unprofessional, beneath the dignity of a statewide elected official, and most importantly, contrary to the best interest of the taxpayers and students of the State of Oklahoma.”
McBride accused Walters and the Department of Education of denying his subcommittee entry to the Board of Education executive sessions. He also accused Walters of resisting answering inquiries from the legislature and of not complying with budgetary directives.
School districts in Oklahoma have reportedly claimed they have not received Title 1 funding and paid maternity leave funding. The Department of Education has also been accused of not cooperating with open records requests.
“The pattern of overreach, disregard for legislative oversight and policy making, and lack of concern for student safety and budgetary stability led me to write this letter asking you to establish a Special Investigative Committee on the State Department of Education,” wrote McBride. “I believe that all other remedies have been exhausted.”
Walters said in an Aug. 15 interview that the funds are available but that “disagreements between the House and Senate have stalled its distribution and that a legal opinion is being sought from the Attorney General to ensure compliance with state laws regarding fund allocation,” per News 9.
He called McBride’s impeachment investigation request a “political witch hunt.”
“There’s been a lot of misinformation,” Walters told the news outlet. “The money is there. The money's to go out this year; so school is just starting, so the money will be there this year. The question is, 'legally, how can the money be doled out?' We can't get a consensus.”
Walters has been accused by LGBTQ advocates of enforcing “policies that negatively impact LGBTQ+ students” such as “leading the Oklahoma State Board of Education in approving a rule restricting schools from altering sex or gender designations in student records without board authorization, regardless of the student’s or guardians’ wishes,” per The Advocate.
