Ryan Walters weighs in on Oklahoma religious charter school decision
The state superintendent claimed the ruling was “antithetical” with the rights of parents in Oklahoma to direct their children’s education.
- Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters demanded school districts fully fund student meals using existing funds.
- House Education Committee Chair Rep. Dick Lowe, R-Amber, called the demand an “empty threat” and an overstep of Walters’ authority.
- Lowe stated that Walters’ agency lacks legal basis to sanction districts over budget decisions.
Ryan Walters’ demand that school districts fully fund student meals is an “empty threat,” said a key lawmaker in legislating education policy in Oklahoma.
House Education Committee Chair Rep. Dick Lowe, R-Amber, described the state superintendent’s directive as an attempt to overstep the authority of Walters’ office and a threat to the powers of local school boards.
Lowe, a former agriculture teacher, said in a news release that he considered Walters’ demand an unfunded mandate, adding that state law clearly outlines what districts are required to fund, including minimum teacher salaries and limits on administrative spending. It does not require universally free meals, he said.
“That decision rightly belongs to locally elected school boards, who know their communities best and are entrusted with setting district budgets according to local needs,” Lowe said. “Districts that choose to use discretionary funds to cover meal costs for all students do so voluntarily, not because of any mandate from the state.”
Ryan Walters blames price of school lunches on ‘bureaucratic bloat’
In response to Lowe’s comments, Walters said: “It’s not a threat, but we are not surprised that there is misinformation when school districts are asked to be responsible for their budgets and taxpayer dollars.”
Lowe’s remarks come two days after Walters pledged to “force every school district to fully fund student meals using existing state and federal dollars.“
He blamed “bureaucratic bloat” for the cost of school lunches and claimed districts were “triple-taxing parents to cover lunches while administrators pad their paychecks.“
Walters said in his letter that districts that don’t comply with his demand face “a full financial audit” and said OSDE “will review their budgets and demand administrative cost cuts to prioritize kids.”
Administrators of some large districts have said picking up the tab for student meals could cost millions of dollars, an expense they hadn’t budgeted for weeks before the start of the academic year.
Lowe said Walters’ agency, the Oklahoma State Department of Education, had no legal basis to retaliate through sanctions over a district’s budget decisions.
“If Walters has legislative goals, I encourage him to be communicative with lawmakers year-round, not after session has adjourned and it’s too late for the Legislature to consider any of his proposals,” he said.
(This story was updated to add new information.)