Tension rises as State Board meeting canceled, members push for vote on new attorney

Oklahoma State Board of Education members want to hire an attorney to represent the board, but Superintendent Ryan Walters canceled this week’s meeting, where they planned to vote.

Legal Counsel Critical for Board Decisions

The board states that it can’t move forward without legal counsel to advise on its duties and procedures. The board’s previous attorney, appointed in November, stepped down on August 12. Now, four members are pushing to hire a new lawyer selected from the Attorney General's approved list.

“The statute allows them to have their own attorney because their interest is not always the exact interest of the state superintendent,” said Bob Burke, the attorney representing the four board members.

Burke says his clients are trying to refocus on the board after months of distractions, including when members confirmed seeing inappropriate images on Walters’ office TV—only to be called liars.

“The four board members want one thing. They want to get the sideshow that occurs all the time in the news, off the news, off the cameras, and go on with the business of improving the quality of public education in Oklahoma,” Burke said.

Meeting Cancellation Sparks Tension

Members say Walters is blocking that effort. He canceled this week’s regular meeting, where the board had planned to vote for new counsel.

“They have never been provided with an explanation of why the board meeting was canceled. Because they were ready to go ahead and hire a lawyer,” Burke said.

The four members—Chris Van Dehende, Mike Tinney, Ryan Deatherage, and Becky Carson—are calling for a special meeting on Wednesday to hold the vote before September’s monthly meeting. Walters’ office has not given notice for that meeting.

In a statement, Walters’ team said on his behalf: “It is hard to take them seriously when their clear intention is to distract from the outstanding work being accomplished at OSDE under the Walters administration.”

“The bickering cannot continue. The bickering does nothing to advance the cause of education in the state,” Burke added.

Next Steps

If there’s no lawful notice of the special meeting by Tuesday morning, Burke says he will ask the State Supreme Court to step in and set one.

While the members would like Walters to file the meeting notice, they have moved forward with filing their own through the Secretary of State. They have invited Walters to attend, but his presence is not required for the vote.