Oklahoma’s top education official is under fire from his fellow Republicans after being accused of withholding critical funds from the state’s schools. The state legislature is investigating Ryan Walters, who is well-known for his right-wing culture warattacks on Oklahoma teachers.
Last week, Republican state Rep. Mark McBride led a letter to House Speaker Charles McCall, calling for a possible investigation into impeachment. The letter outlined several reasons for an investigation into Walters, including that he had failed to fulfill Open Records Act requests and had withheld funding the state legislature had intended for physical school security enhancements and asthma inhalers.
“I have repeatedly met one-on-one with the Superintendent, where I pled with him to please focus on the responsibilities and duties of his office, and work with the Legislature to improve and advance the cause of Public Education in Oklahoma,” McBride wrote in the letter that was signed by 16 other Republican lawmakers. “These pleas have fallen on deaf ears and the Superintendent has chosen to pursue an aggressively opposite path, one filled with name-calling, obstruction, defiance, and secrecy.”
In response, Walters challenged lawmakers to go ahead and begin impeachment proceedings.
Walters, who is the head of the Oklahoma State Department of Education, has frequently made headlines for outlandish or extremely conservative proposals for Oklahoma schools. In January, he likened the school system to “Epstein Island,” a reference to the home where late billionaire and child predator Jeffrey Epstein would abuse children.
The following day he hired Chaya Raichik — an inflammatory right-wing activist who, under the handle LibsOfTikTok, uses social media to spread misinformation and smear teachers — as an adviser to the state’s education department, even though it’s unclear if she lives in Oklahoma or has any relevant experience.
In July, Walters mandated that every school district must teach the Bible and the Ten Commandments, a clear violation of the U.S. Constitution. An Oklahoma parent has filed a lawsuit, and many school officials have said they will ignore the guidance.
Walters’ antics have garnered plenty of criticism and pushback from community members and local Oklahoma school officials alike. House Democrats have called for Walters’ impeachment several times over the last year. Lawmakers’ concerns with his ability to actually do the job he was elected to do grew stronger, and finally came to a head last week.
After the letter from the House Republicans, the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency announced that it would begin an investigation into Walters.
“I … will conduct a thorough, transparent investigation to provide answers to my fellow legislators and the citizens of Oklahoma,” the chairman of the committee, Republican state Rep. Kevin Wallace, said in a statement.
Then, on Sunday, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond issued a scathing opinion demanding that Walters release the funds for school security immediately. “Those wasted months have resulted in school districts not receiving millions of dollars in funds they could have used to bolster security and protect students,” Drummond wrote. “I pray that your failure to deploy these funds does not result in deadly consequences.”
And it’s not just Walters’ handling of Oklahoma’s school finances that have come under fire. Walters is also facing a defamation lawsuit from Rob Miller, the superintendent of Bixby Public Schools.
Last month, Miller asked Walters when his school district would receive Title I funding, a federal grant available to schools with at least 40% low-income students. According to the lawsuit, the state education department indicated that schools would receive that funding in May. When a reporter asked Walters about Miller’s inquiry, Walters called Miller a “clown,” “a true embarrassment” and a “liar,” and he claimed that the Bixby district was dealing with financial troubles — which Miller categorically denied.
Walters was elected in 2022, largely on a platform of right-wing culture war grievances including falsely claiming Oklahoma’s library books contain sexually explicit material and accusing teachers of being child abusers. He has clashed numerous times with the teacher’s union and members of his own party.
Walters did not respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
Despite the investigation and the pending lawsuit, Walters is still not backing down from his rhetoric. True to form, he is claiming that all the controversy surrounding him is the fault of liberals. “The left and union lackeys call for an investigation and impeachment,” he posted on X, formerly Twitter. “I will never stop standing for parents!”
