oklahoma city – Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters must be relieved that the calendar has turned to April. His last week in March was marked by continued backlash and criticism from Oklahomans, canceled events, and confusion among Oklahoma Department of Education officials (OSDE). No matter how much Walters tries to hide from criticism, it's clear Oklahomans aren't going to let him go free. Please look:
Monday, March 25: More bad reviews for Walters.
This was reported by NonDoc, a nonprofit news site run by the Sustainable Journalism Foundation. new voting data The research on Walters includes one survey shared privately by Republican operatives, all of which “show Walters with significantly unfavorable ratings among various demographics.”
- In an open-ended question about general feelings towards Walters, he said: Only 0.6% of responses were registered as “approved” or “positive.” “Rather, the top result was “disapproval'' or “negative'' at 25.9 percent. The sentiment that Mr. Walters is “bad for public schools” was recorded by 19.1%, with an additional 9.8% of respondents falling into the “close-minded/divisive/arrogant” category. A further 8.2% responded that they were not qualified. 5.7% answered “extreme”.
- Overall, it's an open-ended question in which you describe Walters “in as many or as few words as you like.” Among Oklahoma Republicans surveyed, 72.2 percent had a negative opinion.
- Poll respondents' open-ended responses to Walters indicate the depth of dissatisfaction with his leadership, even among conservative voters. “[Ryan Walters] He doesn't know what he's doing and is trying to destroy the public education system. I'm a Republican and a conservative, [Walters] It's not measurable and is causing problems. ” said a man between the ages of 50 and 64 who calls himself a “Trump Republican.”
- “Another older woman in the same age group who identified as a ‘traditional Republican’ was more blunt. “Ryan Walters has a dictator's approach to education. He does not include the general public, teachers, administrators, and others directly involved in the educational process.” the woman said. ”
Wednesday, March 27: Attempt to silence Oklahomans ahead of board meeting
State officials used ties and extension cords to block the entrance to the Oklahoma State Department of Education ahead of the much-anticipated State Board of Education meeting. Oklahoman teeth to call “Significant changes to enforcement protocols.” A new ban on waiting outside buildings from 11 p.m. Wednesday night to 6 a.m. Thursday morning in an apparent effort to silence Oklahomans waiting outside to get into State Board of Education meetings. Rules were posted on the building. This occurred despite the fact that: fox 25 reportmembers of the public have previously camped out overnight to secure seats at board meetings, where seating and opportunities for public comment were extremely limited.
Thursday, March 28: Oklahomans speak out against Walters at board meeting, leaving OSDE without an attorney.
At the Oklahoma State Board of Education's monthly meetings, only 10 people are allowed to speak during the public comment period. All 10 speakers at Thursday's conference used their time to criticize State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters for failing to protect the state's LGBTQ+ students and keep Oklahoma schools safe. Their message was clear. Ryan Walters must be fired.Watch full video of Oklahomans criticizing Walters' failure here.
However, this was not the only news that came out of the OSDE conference. Oklahoman reportthat Apparently there is not a single lawyer left at the police station. latest developments in Mass exodus of Oklahoma Department of Education employees
- “Instead of having an agency-employed attorney bring legal matters to the board, it was the board’s contract attorney who presented those items during the meeting, which is a common practice. It's not a practice. What are the possible reasons? There has been a recent wave of people leaving the state Department of Education.”
- “Three other prominent attorneys at the state Department of Education, Deputy General Counsel Andy Ferguson, Erin Smith and Assistant Attorney General Nathan Downey, are also rumored to have left the agency. As of Thursday, the agency's website states: The “Legal Affairs Bureau'' page does not list the names of lawyers, an extremely unusual situation for a major state agency.
So was it a shock that Walters, who usually speaks to reporters after board meetings, declined to answer questions Thursday?
Friday, March 29: Walters cancels event
The day after the disastrous OSDE meeting, Oklahoman report Ryan Walters reportedly pulled out of an event sponsored by a conservative group at Oklahoma State University where a student protest was planned. “Will he be so upset facing the Oklahomans calling for his firing that he won't even show up in front of a friendly crowd?” said Laurel Powell, communications director for HRC. Masu.
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