By Joslin Tinline, Plainview High School, Ardmore
Though he is only months into his first term in office, Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters continues to generate controversy.
So far this year, Walters has called the teachers union terrorists, banned books and demanded a teacher to be removed for advising a certain library to her students.
Walters said he will ensure that indoctrination and (Critical Race Theory) are eliminated from our state. Last week, Walters made remarks that further divided the state.
On July 6, Walters held a forum at the Norman Public Library. Walters spoke and answered questions. A YouTube video posted by reporter David Chasanov showed Walters saying state teachers unions were undermining the nation and families.
The audience stood and raised their signs, many shouting at Walters, and calling him a liar
“They want to have discussions with your kids about being transgender in the earliest of grades,” Walters said in the video.
In the video, others ask to hear the truth. Walters said there will not be boys playing girls sports, and vice versa.
Caroline Dulworth, the head of the central Norman Library, said she couldn’t say much about the meeting. However, Dulworth confirmed she was asked to take people out of the meeting twice and was asked to bring security to the meeting.
“He has the right to say whatever he wants, but they also have the right to boo him,” she said.
A representative of the state’s teacher union and at least 2 attorneys declined to speak about Walters on the record for this article. However, former Senate Pro Tempore Cal Hobson said Walters was immature, a fluke and out of his league.
“He’s been probably the most controversial because he says the most outrageous things that nobody should say,” Hobson said in a phone interview.
During his meeting in Norman, Walters’ comments about the Tulsa Race Massacre in particular became national news.
“Let’s not tie it to the skin color, and say skin color determined that,” Walters said of the Tulsa Race Massacre
“He is just showing he has never read a paragraph in his life about the Tulsa Race Massacre,” Hobson said.
Walters said there were 750 new teachers being hired to come to Oklahoma, adding that he was working on ways to provide educators more resources. Hobson said what Walters was really talking about was a one-time bonus that was not funded by the Oklahoma Legislature. A teacher in the crowd asked how she does K-5 STEM (science technology engineering and mathematics), and that she does not have the resources she needs and that she sees no effort coming from Walters.
According to the media outlet, The Frontier, Walters said a state vendor was responsible for mismanagement for federal relief money intended to help families with educational expenses during the coronavirus pandemic. However, a recently released audit by State Auditor Cindy Byrd lays blame of the mismanagement upon the feet of the state — contradicting Walters’ statement.
“It’s just silly papering over all the trouble that he has caused,” said Hobson.
Former Norman High School teacher Summer Boismier covered up her personal classroom library and posted a link to get a card to the Brooklyn library in response to the Oklahoma Legislature’s HB 1775, which banned teaching Critical Race Theory.
The banned books contained LGBTQ+ books.
Walters took the issue to the Legislature and called for Boismier’s teaching license to be revoked. Boismier is challenging the effort.
“There is no place for a teacher with a liberal political agenda in the classroom,” Walters said in a letter posted to social media.
However, in the YouTube video of the event at the Norman library, a woman spoke about a coach at a Ringling school, Phil Koons.
The woman in the video said the Ringling coach showed his testicles to his athletes and made them do naked burpees, where the students jumped in the air, went down and laid on the floor and did a push-up. Walters confirms what the woman said, telling the crowd that there is an investigation going on, yet the coach remains on paid leave during the investigation.
Walters called for Boismier’s immediate removal. Koons remains on paid leave.
Clytie Bunyan, opinion editor of The Oklahoman newspaper, said there is hypocrisy and a double standard in how Walters handles his job.
“This superintendent has lost the respect of respectable Oklahomans across the state and has made Oklahoma education the laughing stock of the nation,” Bunyan, who has written columns against Walters’ leadership, said via text.
“Airing such a video to make a point that teachers’ unions are terrorist organizations is highly inflammatory and deliberately misleading,” Bunyan said.
Walters was indirect, to say the least, in asking about the allegations at the Norman meeting.
Hobson said he expects Walters to continue to be controversial. He said Walters has made false claims, has double standards and disrupted the entire state with his remarks and actions.“There work horses and there are show horses in politics,” Hobson said, “he is a show horse.”
