Democrats in the House of Representatives want to investigate Walters

By John Dobberstein, Editor

Several Democrats in the Oklahoma House of Representatives have introduced a resolution calling for the creation of a bipartisan committee to investigate Oklahoma State Education Secretary Ryan Walters over his department’s use of federal funds.

In filing House Resolution 1052, lawmakers said they were calling on House Speaker Charles McCall and Republican lawmakers to hold Walters “accountable” for the Oklahoma State Department of Education’s handling of federal taxpayer dollars.

House Democratic Leader Cyndi Munson (D-Oklahoma City) said Democratic lawmakers last August called for a special bipartisan House committee to investigate whether there were sufficient grounds for impeachment against Ryan Walters.

They renewed that demand last December, she said, and last March, House Democrats renewed their demand again after the U.S. Department of Education announced its investigation into “possible misappropriation and diversion of federal taxpayer funds,” Munson said.

According to Munson, House Democrats sent a letter to Attorney General Gentner Drummond last week calling for an investigative review of OSDE spending.

“For the past four months, Republicans – who hold power in both legislative chambers and the Governor’s Mansion – have done nothing to listen to and address the concerns of Oklahomans who want to protect our public schools. It is past time to act,” Munson said Wednesday.

Rep. John Waldron (D-Tulsa), a former educator, believes this call is long overdue.

“I’m pleased to see new accountability language included in this year’s education bills,” Waldron said. “But if we’re serious about accountability, it’s time to bring in the accountants.”

Rep. Melissa Provenzano (D-Tulsa), a former teacher and administrator, says Walters’ leadership has raised concerns among teachers and students.

“Our teachers and students have the right to feel safe and in good hands. It scares me when I think about the consequences that the current state inspector has already had and will have,” said Provenzano.

“We’ve seen bomb threats against Oklahoma schools, the death of a student in Oklahoma due in part to the damaging rhetoric of our state superintendent, and now we’re seeing the alleged mismanagement of federal funds that could be used to fund Oklahoma schools. We can work together across party lines to find a solution that ultimately benefits the citizens of Oklahoma, and that’s exactly the goal of this committee.”

As Fox 25 in Oklahoma City reported, the joint Appropriations and Budget Committees of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and Senate unanimously passed a ban on the OSDE from spending money on certain public relations activities as part of a bill to set aside education funds.

FOX 25 reported that taxpayer money went to various out-of-state companies that provided services such as video production and arranging interviews with the state inspector general.

For example, $30,000 went to Vought Strategies, a press and media communications firm based in Northern Virginia.

Over $70,000 went to Texas-based organization Precision Outreach to create videos on topics ranging from teachers’ unions to bathroom safety concerns for transgender students.

An OSDE spokesman, Dan Isett, fired back in response to the resolution, saying Democrats were “determined to create an educational environment that is not consistent with Oklahoma’s values ​​or voters.”

“They have tirelessly tried to use our schools to promote woke indoctrination, fought against accountability and improvement in failing schools, defended sexual deviance in the classroom and sold porn in school libraries,” Isett said. “Superintendent Walters will not let the radical left get him down, and neither will the people of Oklahoma.”