Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has sent a letter to the three newly appointed members of the State Board of Education. Governor Kevin Stitt named Ryan Deatherage, Michael Tinney, and Chris VanDenhende to replace Donald Burdick, Kendra Wesson, and Katie Qeubedeaux. Stitt said he made the move because of “needless political drama” which included asking for students’ immigration status.
Drummond’s letter encourages the trio to think independently of both Stitt and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters.
“While I welcome the Governor’s apparent ‘shake-up’ of the Board, this action is only necessary because of Gov. Stitt’s extremely poor judgment in appointing, promoting and then endorsing Ryan Walters and his anti-public schools agenda,” wrote Drummond. “As a new board member, you must act independently of Gov. Stitt and Superintendent Walters. The oath of office you take is to the Constitution and Oklahoma law.”
The letter also outlines Drummond’s concerns about how Walters and the previous makeup of the Board of Education have handled public education. This list includes lower educational performance, failed administration of school security grants, denying legislators access to executive sessions in violation of the Open Meetings Act, among other issues.
“Superintendent Walters also possesses an honesty gap in view of his own expectations for student performance on state-administered tests, having quietly lowered the student performance bar in 2024,” wrote Drummond. “The Superintendent’s watered-down approach further undermines the integrity of Oklahoma’s educational assessments, which the Governor’s previous appointees green-lighted. This approach permitted students to score lower while still being considered proficient.”
You can find Drummond’s letter to the new Board of Education members here.
Walters reacted by going to social media and posting on his X account.
