Education Budget
Newly elected State Superintendent Ryan Walters stumped legislators earlier this week when he said he planned to change the already-approved education budget proposal.
Walters’ first state school board meeting as superintendent Thursday began with familiar refrains.
"We will ensure that indoctrination and CRT are eliminated in our state. We will make sure all of our vendors and the schools are focused on education, and not diversity, equity and inclusion," said Walters.
Former Superintendent Joy Hofmeister’s budget request included a $5,000 across-the-board teacher raise. But Walters’ request cuts that allocation in half, and instead of across-the-board raises, he wants extra pay to be based on individual merit, like having high evaluation scores or being Nationally Board Certified.
"We have to start shifting in education from a blanket socialist concept that everybody gets the same no matter what, and say, you know what, we want student results, that’s what we want. We’re going to incentivize that with the way that we pay things in education," Walters said.
Walters may not get everything on his wish list though - final budget approval is up to the legislature.
Glossip Case Review
After successfully pushing back the execution dates of several death row inmates earlier this week, Attorney General Gentner Drummond is also ordering a new review of one inmate’s case.
Attorney General Gentner Drummond has ordered an independent council to conduct a review of death row inmate Richard Glossip’s murder conviction and death sentence.
Former prosecutor Rex Duncan will review the investigation, trial, sentencing, and appeals processes that have happened since Glossip was sentenced to death for the 1997 murder of motel owner Barry Van Treese.
An investigative report by law firm Reed Smith found letters suggesting Justin Sneed, the man who carried out the murder of Van Trese, wanted to recant his statement that Glossip had paid him to commit the crime. Glossip is currently scheduled to be executed on May 18.
Oklahoma State University Grass
When four teams play on Sunday for the NFL Conference Championships, they’ll all be stepping onto football fields with Oklahoma roots.
The NFL’s final two playoff games will take place at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium and Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, both of which use turfgrass varieties developed at Oklahoma State University.
OSU’s Turfgrass Science Division has patented 10 varieties over the past three decades. The Chiefs will face the Bengals on a grass called NorthBridge, which OSU released in 2011. The Eagles are up against the 49ers on Tahoma 31 turfgrass, a newer variety that OSU researchers bred to be resilient to cold temperatures and drought.
Half of the NFL uses natural turfgrass in their stadiums rather than artificial turf. But the NFL Players Association says it should be more, since foot, ankle and knee injuries are more common on the fake stuff.
Sooner Alumni In NFL Conference Championships
The University of Oklahoma will have more former players than any other NCAA program in the NFL’s Conference Championship games on Sunday.
The National Football Conference (NFC) and American Football Conference (AFC) Championship Games will have nine Sooner alumni on the gridiron.
The NFC championship game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. kickoff and is headlined by former Oklahoma Heisman finalist Jalen Hurts as he leads the No. 1 seed Philadelphia Eagles versus the No. 2 seed San Francisco 49ers. The now-MVP-finalist found out during his Wednesday press conference that he was named a finalist for the Most Valuable Player award.
“I didn’t know. I put the work in, it’s a cool honor. I don’t have much to say about it, I’m at a loss of words to be honest,” Hurts said.
He isn’t the only Sooner playing in the NFC title game. San Francisco tackle Trent Williams and Philadelphia tackle Lane Johnson were teammates at OU during the 2009 season. Both former Sooners were selected fourth overall in their respective NFL drafts and also named to the 2022-2023 NFL All-Pro Team.
Hurts and San Francisco’s rookie quarterback Brock Purdy and are not unfamiliar with what the other can do. In 2019, Hurts and the No.7 Sooners beat the Purdy-led Iowa State Cyclones 42-41. Hurts and Purdy combined for over 675 total yards along with 11 total touchdowns.
“You know obviously two different teams, two different times,” Hurts said. “I remember getting out early and then had like five touchdowns in the first half. I think it was like 35-14 at halftime or something like that and then they ended up coming back.”
“It was a good game, I’m glad we won,” Hurts said.
In the AFC title game, the No. 1 seed Kansas City Chiefs go up against the No. 3 seed, Cincinnati Bengals, on GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
Former Oklahoma running backs Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine make up Cincinnati’s running back room. At Oklahoma, Perine set the NCAA record for most rushing yards in a single-game at 427 in November 2014 versus Kansas. Mixon and Perine were both chosen in the 2017 NFL draft and eventually became teammates again in Cincinnati in 2019.
Kansas City has four former Sooners: offensive linemen Creed Humphrey and Orlando “Zeus” Brown, long snapper James Winchester and tight end Blake Bell.
Bengals Head Coach Zac Taylor and San Francisco tight end George Kittle have ties to Norman as they both graduated from Norman High School.
Oklahoma’s ties run deep in Sunday’s conference championship games, but it’s not the only state with bragging rights.
The University of Michigan has the second-most players competing this weekend with seven. Among the seven is former Wolverine and now Super Bowl champion Brandon Graham. Graham made a huge impact on Super Bowl LII, where the Eagles beat the Patriots. Graham had a drive-killing sack on Tom Brady that resulted in a turnover-on-downs with just over two minutes left.
The Philadelphia and San Francisco game kicks off at 2 p.m. and the Kansas City and Cincinnati game follows right after, with the winners meeting in Super Bowl LVII in Arizona.
This story is a product of Gaylord News - a reporting project of the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. For additional stories by Gaylord News go to GaylordNews.net
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