OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — With State Superintendent Ryan Walters stepping down, educators and his critics say the next person in the role must show respect for teachers, set aside politics, and begin repairing Oklahoma’s education system.
Walters he’ll be resigning as state superintendent to accept a job in the private sector on Wednesday, leaving Governor Kevin Stitt to appoint a replacement to serve the final 16 months of his term.
Educators and lawmakers critical of Walters say the next leader must repair damage and restore respect for teachers.
Former State Rep. Mark McBride, a Republican who termed out of the legislature last year, was one of Walters’ fiercest critics at the state capitol.
From sending Walters subpoenas, to getting two dozen lawmakers to join him calling for a potential impeachment investigation, to seeking investigations into Walters’ Oklahoma-state-salaried but Texas-based political advisor Matt Langston, McBride was one of few Oklahoma Republicans consistently calling for Walters to be held accountable.
McBride was glad to hear Walters is stepping down.
“So my personal opinion now is adios, goodbye,” McBride said. “I don’t wish him any harm or anything. I’m just glad I’m thankful he’s gone… It’s time that we move forward and forget about this reign of tyranny that we’ve had.”
Tulsa Classroom Teachers Association President Shawna Mott-Wright said Walters’ resignation is welcome news for educators, because—she says—ultimately, it will ultimately benefit the Oklahoma children they serve.
“It’s a good day in Oklahoma,” Mott-Wright said. “It’s a great day for the children of Oklahoma.
Mott-Wright said Stitt’s appointee must keep kids at the center of decision-making.
“They need to focus on what’s best for kids. And we cannot do that if we don’t focus on what’s best for teachers,” she said.
Beyond particular policies or politics, her most important requirement is respect.
“Send out something positive to the educators. Hey, thank you for being an educator in Oklahoma,” Mott-Wright said. “I don’t care if you’re Republican, Democrat, Independent, Libertarian, pea green and purple spotted. If you are for kids, I’m for you. And if you’re not for kids, we’ve got a problem.”
McBride said whoever takes over needs to start with a lot of phone calls, because the job requires teamwork and immediate action.
“I don’t think any one person has all the answers. It’s going to take a group of people,” McBride said. “You’ve got Stacey Reeder at OU, you’ve got Kathy Currie at OSU, you’ve got Rhonda Baker, you’ve got April Grace, you’ve got some other people. We need to fix it. We need to do as much as we can. And in a year or a year and a half, to fix it. So whoever is elected and takes over, they have something to work with because it’s a mess now, and really it’s been unattended to.”
He said he hopes the new superintendent is not someone who intends to run for the office after serving the remaining 16 months of Walters’ term.
“A person needs to be appointed that has no political aspirations moving forward, like myself, I have no desire to to run for public office again,” McBride said.
While nobody has asked him to step into the role, McBride said he would answer the call if it comes.
“I would not be opposed,” he said. “If I were to take the position of Superintendent, I would tell the staff there, ‘all I want to know is what we need to fix. I don’t want to hear your complaints or anything. There’s plenty to go around. There are tons of them to go around. Everybody is unhappy, but let’s move forward.’ It’s time that we move forward and forget about this reign of tyranny that we’ve had and and move on and improve education in Oklahoma and be there for parents, students, the people… We’ve got a really broken education system that needs somebody just to step in and that’s got the willpower and knows the people and can put people around him, has no agenda other than educate… Leave this Christian nationalism out of the classroom and let’s leave all these social issues that are out there. Let’s leave that out of the classroom, let kids walk in the front door and go to school,” he said.
While Walters had plenty of critics, he also had his share of ardent supporters too, including state Republican Party leadership.
While she wasn’t available for an interview, Oklahoma Republican Party Chair Charity Linch said OKGOP leaders hope whoever replaces Walters does not change too much from the way Walters led things.
In a statement to News 4, Linch said:
“We support Superintendent Walters’ decision. We are thankful for his contributions to the Oklahoma education system. His bold leadership will be a tough act to follow. We wish him well.
Moving forward, we have confidence that Governor Stitt will appoint a capable conservative person. We hope the common-sense measures Superintendent Walters put in place will continue to make a strong impact on Oklahoma education.”
