Two Walters OSDE staffers leave with big payday

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Two now-former heads of staff under Ryan Walters got $30,000 each on what is more than likely their last paycheck.

Matt Langston was the Chief Policy Advisor under Walters, and an Oklahoma Watch report found that within the couple of years he was hired, he used his keycard at the office a total of 42 times.

"I've said it, he was a ghost employee," said former State Representative Mark McBride.

McBride has been sounding the alarm for a while about Langston and the massive paychecks he's gotten while under Walters.

"You've got this ghost employee that shows up 40 times, and he's knocking down the bank," said McBride.

According to the State Payroll that came out this week, Langston got a September paycheck of $27,500.

Langston isn't the only one with a big paycheck; Matt Mohler was the Chief of Staff for Walters and was hired earlier this year when he got a $50,000 bonus.

In September, according to records, Mohler walked away with a paycheck of $28,300.

"I think lawmakers are to blame for allowing that and allowing this to continue," said McBride.

Near the start of October, it was announced that Langston was no longer employed with OSDE. Last week, the department's interim spokesperson said that Mohler was also no longer employed with OSDE.

It's unknown if the two of them ended up getting terminal leave pay. That information could come in the October state payroll data not been released yet.

Combined for July, August, and September, Langston received a total of $67,000 in pay, while Mohler, during that same time, ended up getting $72,499.

"You can't just sweep this under the rug and forget about it. We can't let something like this happen again," said McBride.

Payroll data also showed that the Director of Accreditation at the Department of Education ended up receiving nearly $28,000 in terminal pay in September; she was hired under Walters, too.