Superintendent Walters plans to cut ties with groups he calls extreme, others call essential

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) - After a contentious end to last year and having to be subpoenaed, State School Superintendent Ryan Walters announced the end of partnerships with three groups at Wednesday's Budget & Appropriations hearing.

He listed three: the Oklahoma State School Boards Association (OSSBA), the Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration (CCOSA), and the Oklahoma Public School Resource Center (OPSRC).

A press release calls the groups "anti-parent" and "extremist groups that seek to undermine parents, force failed policies into the schools, and work against a quality education in Oklahoma."

"They try their best to bully and intimidate districts into joining them," said Superintendent Walters after Wednesday's budget hearing. "They do this through falsely representing themselves."

Two of the three groups responded to KFOR for a request, saying in part that the partnership is integral to students, parents, and the community in Oklahoma.

Senator Markwayne Mullin secured a $55 million grant one of those, the Oklahoma Public School Resource Center (OPSRC) in October. In a press release, Senator Mullin stated “I’m confident Oklahoma Public School Resource Center will use this grant to support new and expanding institutions to meet the unique needs of Oklahoma students and their families."

CCOSA responded to the announcement from Superintendent Walters of cutting the partnerships:

For the past five decades, the Cooperative Council of Oklahoma School Administration (CCOSA) – an individual membership organization - has served Oklahoma students by providing resources, professional development and public policy updates to superintendents, principals, special education directors and other school leaders throughout Oklahoma. Last year, over 5,400 educators attended CCOSA’s professional development events to serve those members, focusing on topics such as school finance, special education law and teacher evaluations. These resources have been made available to educators in coordination and collaboration with the State Department of Education for the benefit of Oklahoma's 700,000 public school students. CCOSA has desired for continued partnership with the new administration. As lifelong educators, we continue to encourage Supt. Walters and leaders at all levels to move beyond politics and prioritize public education with impactful investments and other support for Oklahoma students to succeed.

Cooperative Council of Oklahoma School Administration (CCOSA)

Christy Watson of the Oklahoma State School Boards Association responded with:

OSSBA is governed by locally elected school board members, and we’re proud of the work we do to support students through the education and services we provide to the state’s 2,500 school board members and their school districts. We strongly believe that students are best served when parents, families, communities, educators, and education leaders partner together. We know that every day matters for students. They are counting on us all to work in their best interest, and we are committed to continuing to establish and strengthen collaborative relationships centered on student success.

Oklahoma State School Boards Association (OSSBA)

The new budget proposal from Superintendent Walters has been known for several months. Wednesday's hearing was presenting it before the committee.

During the meeting, he pushed his "back to basics" plan which would cost just over $60 million and would include $10 million to continue the teacher sign-on bonus that was implemented before.

"One of the things we're going to continue to do is making sure money is getting where it needs to go," said Superintendent Walters. "This is a plan that prioritizes teachers, it prioritizes students, and it makes sure that we are incentivizing progress."

"I think it went awesome, it went how I wanted it to go," said Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore, after the meeting.

McBride told KFOR that communication has improved greatly in the new year.

"Yeah, he doesn't agree with me on things, and fine, we don't agree but that's okay," said McBride. "Yes, communication could be so much better but, I think since the subpoena communication has changed 100% in a good way."

In the last few months, there were many problems according to lawmakers that surrounded communication.

As reported by KFOR before, Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Education, Rep. 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.'

One undated email response to McBride’s request for information came from Walter’s campaign advisor, Matt Langston, with the Oklahoma State Department of Education letterhead and read, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

On Wednesday, when asked about Langston, Representative McBride replied, "If we want to have a good relationship going forward, he probably doesn't need to come over to our building."

When asked about the seemingly resolved situation, Superintendent Walters chuckled, "You act like Representative McBride and I had a problem before."

Supt. Walters is requesting $3,922,908,833. The amount Supt. Walters is requesting for FY25 to be $47,100,685 less than what the Legislature allocated to the State Department of Education for FY24.