Gov. Stitt adds another new member to Ryan Walters-led education board
Gov. Kevin Stitt wants to fill the lone open seat on the Oklahoma State Board of Education with a veteran Edmond educator.
Stitt's appointment of Becky Carson could further curb the influence of state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters over the board and Oklahoma schools. Stitt and Walters, both Republicans, are increasingly at odds over how to improve K-12 education in the state.
Carson is the fourth person named to the board by Stitt since February, when he ousted and replaced three sitting board members. At the time, he cited disappointing test scores and "ongoing controversy" at the Oklahoma State Department of Education as his reasons.
Stitt has not formally announced Carson's appointment. Her appointment came to light through paperwork Stitt filed with the Oklahoma secretary of state on April 23. Carson's nomination, to fill a term that will end April 2, 2027, is subject to Senate approval.
Spokespeople for Stitt did not immediately return a message seeking comment on the nomination. Neither did a spokeswoman for Walters.
Stitt's moves to reshape the board could have major implications for Walters, who chairs the board and sets its agenda. Until this spring, Walters had faced no pushback from board members as he rolled out sweeping policy changes affecting schools statewide, such as barring school districts from changing a student's sex or gender designations in official records without board approval or implementing a statewide Bible-teaching mandate. During his first two years in office, no board member cast a vote opposite of Walters.
In January, the board unanimously passed a rule Walters proposed that would require schools to track students' immigration statuses. Stitt has criticized the proposal, which is pending final approval by state lawmakers.
The governor appoints six members of the seven-person board, with the state superintendent holding the seventh seat. The board has operated with only six people since October 2022, without a representative from the Fifth Congressional District. That seat remained vacant after a state senator refused to carry one of Stitt's prior nominations, Alex Gray, before the Senate.
A Senate spokesman said Carson can join the board and participate in meetings before being confirmed by the Senate. That body typically works on confirming high-level executive nominations during May, the final month of the legislative session.
Stitt's other new picks for the state education board, who also are awaiting Senate confirmation, already are having an impact. At the board's April 23 meeting, the three new members — Chris VanDenhende, Ryan Deatherage and Michael Tinney — delayed the approval of contested board minutes and debated with Walters about the circumstances surrounding a vote to approve controversial social studies standards.
Two of them told The Oklahoman before the meeting they would like the Oklahoma Legislature to return the proposed standards to the board for further consideration. Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, filed a resolution hours after the meeting to disapprove the standards. Pugh is the chair of the Senate Education Committee, which first will consider Carson's nomination.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Gov. Stitt adds another new member to Ryan Walters-led OSBE
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