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Walters also has faced criticism for his previous work as Republican Gov. “(Walters) just could not help himself but interject with very inflammatory, partisan language,” said Erika Wright, a mother of two children in public school and the leader of the Oklahoma Rural Schools Coalition who spoke to the board. He even encouraged a state board to approve what would be the nation’s first religious charter school, despite an explicit prohibition in the state constitution and the state’s Republican attorney general’s warnings.Īfter a parent and some ministers raised concerns to the board, Walters dismissed them as “radical leftists” who hate the Catholic church.

Walters also has not shied away from his support of private Christian schools. “If he would come over here and talk to us instead of a political hack, I think it would move the state forward and move education forward,” said McBride, who said Walters’ recent refusal of an invitation to address a committee hearing was the first time in his 11 years in the House that an agency head had done so. Mark McBride, a veteran Republican lawmaker who heads a key education budget committee in the House, said he’s disappointed Walters has continued to engage in inflammatory commentary and take advice from his campaign consultant instead of working with lawmakers on policy. In doing so, the 37-year-old political newcomer has frustrated even his fellow Republicans in the Legislature, who have publicly voiced concern about whether Walters can effectively improve public education in Oklahoma, which consistently scores below the national average on most standardized testing and where average scores have declined in recent years. Instead, Walters, a former public school teacher from McAlester, has doubled down on his political rhetoric, focusing his energy on culture-war issues like targeting transgender athletes in schools, banning books and fighting what he calls “Joe Biden’s radical agenda.” While the political strategy was successful and Ryan Walters won the race for superintendent of public instruction by nearly 15 percentage points, many expected him to pivot toward more substantive education policy: working with lawmakers to improve education outcomes and overseeing the state’s largest - and most-funded - agency. “So it’s trying to find something to keep yourself busy, to keep from going crazy.OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - When Oklahoma’s newly elected Republican head of public schools campaigned for the job last fall, he ran on a platform of fighting “woke ideology” in public schools, banning certain books from school libraries, empowering parents with school choice and getting rid of “radical leftists” he claims were indoctrinating children in classrooms across the state. “I have nothing here,” says Drummond, sitting on an orange plastic chair outside the Davis Motel in North Lima, Ohio.

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The retired truck driver and Gulf War veteran misses mowing the lawn, puttering around his yard and chatting with regulars at the tavern next door. Others, like Drummond, are not allowed back in their homes because of the ongoing cleanup. Some are staying away until they’re sure it’s safe. Most have returned, though many complain about illnesses and worry about soil, water and air quality. 3 derailment, officials decided to burn toxic vinyl chloride from five tanker cars to prevent a catastrophic explosion. “Sometimes I just break down,” she says.Ībout half of East Palestine’s nearly 5,000 residents evacuated when, days after the Feb. She remembers the scorched rail tanker at her property line and a backyard flooded with water from the burn site. Walker, 48, also works at a small hotel where many workers are staying, so is constantly reminded of the accident. “I have no idea how long we can continue to do this,” says Walker, while washing clothes at a laundromat. They’re unsure how or whether to move on from the accident and worry what will happen to them and the village where they have deep family roots, friendships and affordable homes. Shelby Walker bounces from hotel to hotel with her five children and four grandchildren while crews tear up railroad tracks and scoop out contaminated soil near their four-bedroom home.Īlmost 3 months after a fiery Norfolk Southern train derailment blackened the skies, sent residents fleeing and thrust East Palestine into a national debate over rail safety, residents say they are still living in limbo. EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (AP) - Jeff Drummond spends days and nights alone in a tiny room with fake wood paneling, two small beds and a microwave atop a mini refrigerator that serves as a nightstand - his pickup truck parked just outside the door at the roadside motel where he’s taken refuge since early February.