(EDITOR’S NOTE: This editorial was first published in The Purcell Register on June 8. We wholeheartedly agree.)
The total incompetence of Ryan Walters as State Superintendent of Public Instruction can best be summed up by school superintendents from around Oklahoma.
Macomb Superintendent Matt Riggs said, “What he has done through his entire approach to public life, from what I’ve seen, is create dragons for himself to slay.”
Riggs said those dragons – leftist indoctrination, pornography and pushing terrorist teachers’ unions – simply don’t exist in a place like Macomb and probably most Oklahoma towns.
“We have real problems but I don’t see a point in bringing those issues to Walters,” Riggs said.
Anadarko Superintendent Jerry McCormick said he hopes Walters can turn his focus from the politics du jour to leading the people he serves.
McCormick previously worked with Walters at McAlester Public Schools.
“I like Ryan. I still consider him a friend. But the issue we have, I believe with him, is his lack of experience in the role of leadership. He’s never been a principal. He’s never been an administrator. He’s never been in charge,” McCormick said.
Walters claims to have met with every superintendent either in person or via Zoom.
However, a recent survey tells a different story. According to results, 190 superintendents of the 509 school districts in the state responded to the survey, with 42 saying they had met Walters in a large group and 16 in a small group. A total of 150 respondents reported zero minutes with Walters.
Moreover, respondents said a Zoom meeting earlier this year was about 15 minutes long and superintendents were not allowed to speak.
No questions in a chat box were addressed. A similar Zoom meeting was held in May with the same format but was even shorter than the first one and the chat box was disabled.
Walters’ continued silence lets superintendents know they are on their own. —
