OKLAHOMA CITY — When Oklahoma’s newly elected Republican head of public faculties campaigned for the job final fall, he ran on a platform of combating “woke ideology” in public faculties, banning sure books from faculty libraries, empowering dad and mom with faculty alternative and eliminating “radical leftists” he claims had been indoctrinating kids in lecture rooms throughout the state.
While the political technique was profitable and Ryan Walters received the race for superintendent of public instruction by almost 15 proportion factors, many anticipated him to pivot towards extra substantive schooling coverage: working with lawmakers to enhance schooling outcomes and overseeing the state’s largest – and most-funded – company.
Instead, Walters, a former public faculty trainer from McAlester, has doubled down on his political rhetoric, focusing his vitality on culture-war points like concentrating on transgender athletes in faculties, banning books and combating what he calls “Joe Biden’s radical agenda.”
In doing so, the 37-year-old political newcomer has pissed off even his fellow Republicans within the Legislature, who’ve publicly voiced concern about whether or not Walters can successfully enhance public schooling in Oklahoma, which persistently scores beneath the nationwide common on most standardized testing and the place common scores have declined lately.
State Rep. Mark McBride, a veteran Republican lawmaker who heads a key schooling funds committee within the House, mentioned he’s upset Walters has continued to have interaction in inflammatory commentary and take recommendation from his marketing campaign guide as a substitute of working with lawmakers on coverage.
“If he would come over here and talk to us instead of a political hack, I think it would move the state forward and move education forward,” mentioned McBride, who mentioned Walters’ latest refusal of an invite to deal with a committee listening to was the primary time in his 11 years within the House that an company head had finished so.
PHOTOS: Oklahoma’s prime schooling official embraces tradition wars
Even Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat, who mentioned he considers Walters a good friend, mentioned he’s turned off by Walters’ “fiery” rhetoric.
“I wish we could get down into the details of trying to deliver on school choice and a real teacher pay raise,” Treat mentioned.
In an editorial, the state’s largest newspaper, The Oklahoman, known as on Walters to finish the divisive rhetoric or resign from workplace.
Walters is a robust supporter of a voucher-style plan that will enable dad and mom to make use of taxpayer cash to homeschool their kids or ship them to personal faculties, even spiritual ones. The concern is a significant one the Republican-controlled Legislature is contemplating this yr amid bipartisan opposition. But a number of lawmakers engaged on the proposal say Walters has had little, if any, enter.
For his half, Walters mentioned he’s received “great support” within the House and Senate and that he’s persevering with to work with lawmakers to get some type of voucher proposal, which he calls faculty alternative, to the governor’s desk.
“I’m going to continue to fight for that in both the Senate and the House, and we’re working closely to get this done,” he mentioned.
He additionally proposed a brand new trainer recruitment pilot program that features a $50,000 sign-on bonus for brand new lecturers in sure educational areas who spend at the very least 5 years within the classroom.
While many public faculty lecturers and directors fiercely oppose the concept of sending public cash to personal faculties, a number of who spoke to The Associated Press say they’re extra involved about Walters’ speaking factors and his threats to punish lecturers.
“I would say fear is the most poignant emotion that is felt,” mentioned Jaime Lee, a ninth-grade U.S. authorities and historical past trainer within the Tulsa suburb of Bixby.
She mentioned many lecturers are afraid of violating a state regulation authorized two years in the past that prohibits the instructing of sure ideas of race and racism, generally known as an “anti-critical race theory law,” which Walters vowed to strongly implement. Critical race concept, a mind-set about America’s historical past by the lens of racism that’s usually taught on the college degree, lately morphed throughout the nation from an obscure tutorial dialogue level on the left right into a political rallying cry on the best.
“It’s frustrating as a teacher,” Lee mentioned.
Those fears had been heightened earlier this yr when Walters threatened to revoke a Norman trainer’s instructing certificates as a result of she supplied her highschool college students with a QR code that linked to the Brooklyn Public Library’s part of banned books.
Walters additionally has not shied away from his help of personal Christian faculties. He even inspired a state board to approve what could be the nation’s first spiritual constitution faculty, regardless of an specific prohibition within the state structure and the state’s Republican lawyer common’s warnings.
After a mother or father and a few ministers raised issues to the board, Walters dismissed them as “radical leftists” who hate the Catholic church.
“(Walters) just could not help himself but interject with very inflammatory, partisan language,” mentioned Erika Wright, a mom of two kids in public faculty and the chief of the Oklahoma Rural Schools Coalition who spoke to the board. “I’m a Republican. I’m not a radical leftist.”
Walters additionally has confronted criticism for his earlier work as Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt’s secretary of schooling, when he had oversight of a program to distribute federal coronavirus aid funds meant for schooling. A scathing federal audit of this system beneficial the state return almost $653,000 it mentioned households had spent on objects like Xbox gaming programs, grills and televisions.
Some of Walters’ different actions have been seen as petty digs towards educators, like when only a month into the job, he eliminated portraits of members of the Educators Hall of Fame that had been hanging for many years within the Department of Education constructing. He changed them with paintings from college students.
He additionally confronted criticism for a tweet in December that confirmed his household posing with a white Santa Claus and mentioned: “No woke Santa this year :).” Many interpreted the message as a thinly veiled racist response to information tales on the time a few Black Oklahoman who dressed as Santa, though Walters rejected any suggestion the tweet was racist.
Despite the controversy, Stitt, who’s serving his second time period as governor, mentioned he continues to have faith in Walters.
“I think he’s easy to target, maybe, and I think he has some social media stuff,” Stitt mentioned. “I know his heart, and his heart is to improve education in Oklahoma and to empower parents.”
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