OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — With no formal resignation letter submitted, State Superintendent Ryan Walters remains in office, drawing a taxpayer-funded paycheck while preparing to start a new job—leaving Gov. Stitt unable to appoint a replacement, and legal experts saying impeachment may be the only option.
“I’ll be stepping down as Oklahoma State Superintendent,” Walters said on Fox News last Wednesday.
Those words got a lot of people talking.
“So my personal opinion now is adios, goodbye,” former State Rep. Mark McBride said the next day.
Others began asking who should take Walters’ place.
“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,” Tulsa Classroom Teachers’ Association President Shawna Mott-Wright said.
“If this really happens, I hope we get a new state superintendent that genuinely cares for the students and educators,” said Oklahoma State Board of Education member Michael Tinney.
That decision all lies with one man.
“It’s the governor who appoints someone to fill the remainder of the term,” former state school board member and attorney Tim Gilpin said.
But nearly a week after Walters proclaimed he was quitting, Governor Stitt still hasn’t appointed anyone to fill his role.
It’s not out of lack of trying.
“The governor can’t appoint someone to replace Superintendent Ryan until he actually resigns and sends the notice to the governor’s office,” Gilpin said.
So far, Walters hasn’t done that—effectively tying Stitt’s hands.
“If he just talks about resigning, that doesn’t really mean much of anything. It’s kind of like pillow talk. There’s nothing that’s going to come of it until that formal notification happens. So we’re all kind of on pins and needles waiting for it,” Gilpin said.
In fact, Walters hasn’t even said when his last day will be.
News 4 attempted to ask him that question at last week’s board meeting, but his spokesperson wouldn’t allow it.
“If you guys could all collect your things and exit the boardroom, that would be fantastic,” the spokesperson told reporters.
News 4 followed up with that spokesperson again on Monday.
She didn’t respond.
So News 4 stopped by the Oklahoma State Department of Education and asked for her.
“Is Madison here?” News 4 asked.
“I haven’t seen her,” a security guard replied.
Not only was she not at work—apparently neither was Walters.
The security guard said they had not seen Walters all day.
Gilpin said Walters’ absence—combined with the fact that the conservative group Walters is going to work for says his first day with them will be Wednesday—poses a bigger issue.
“If the state superintendent doesn’t resign, but also doesn’t show up at the office and do his work, then the Department of Education is in some respects paralyzed because there are decisions that have to be made,” Gilpin said. “In addition, that’s going to at least partially paralyze our local school districts because information has to come down, funds have to come down, regulations enforced.”
Lawmakers like Sen. Adam Pugh also say an M.I.A. state superintendent right now would not set up OSDE for success.
“There’s gonna be some transition assistance necessary as the agency transitions from the superintendent to whoever the governor happens to appoint next,” Pugh said.
So what happens if Walters never formally resigns?
“The governor cannot just fire or terminate a state elected official,” Gilpin said.
Gilpin said the only avenue to getting him out would be impeachment.
“If Superintendent Ryan does not resign, then he’s going to continue to get his paycheck,” Gilpin said. “If he starts another job, I don’t know what their arrangement is, but that’s probably good grounds for the legislature to look at removing him at that point. You can’t do two important jobs at once.”
The Oklahoma Voice reported Monday that Walters’ top advisor, Matt Langston, claimed Walters will submit his formal resignation on Tuesday.
News 4 has not been able to independently confirm that.
No one at OSDE has responded to News 4’s questions.
News 4 has also reached out to Langston, but he has not responded either.
