The action follows Walters’ abrupt cancellation of the board’s monthly meeting, citing the transition of the board’s counsel.
Thursday afternoon, an attorney sent a letter to Walters on behalf of four board members demanding the state department post notice of a special meeting by 9 a.m. on Sept. 2 — one day before the special meeting is set for Sept. 3 at 10 a.m. at the Oklahoma State Capitol, room 535.
The meeting and its agenda were posted on the Secretary of State’s website by Oklahoma Secretary of Education Nellie Tayloe Sanders.
The members are Chris Van Denhende, Ryan Deatherage, Michael Tinney and Becky Carson — all members appointed this year after Gov. Kevin Stitt ousted previous board members.
The new members have butted heads with Walters over several issues, such as passing controversial social studies standards and certifying meeting minutes.
If the notice is not posted on OSDE’s website, the letter threatens the involvement of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. As of publication, that notice has not been posted.
According to the meeting agenda, the board is set to discuss and possibly act on installing a new legal counsel, Ryan Leonard with the firm Leonard, Long and Cassil, PLLC, as well as establishing a process for hiring a board secretary.
At the board’s July meeting, members volleyed with then-counsel Chad Kutmas, who disputed the members’ ability to call special meetings and place items on meeting agendas. Three members then requested the state attorney general’s office pull its approval for Kutmas, and Kutmas’ law firm withdrew him from representing the board.
A statement to StateImpact from OSDE Press Secretary Madison Cercy admonished the board members for the move.
“We are extremely disappointed that these board members are playing games with Oklahoma’s education and children,” the statement said. “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.”
Cercy did not answer whether the department plans to post notice of the meeting.
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