Never one to think of himself as a small fish, Ryan Walters, the Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Schools, went on FOX national news Wednesday night to announce his resignation. That's right baby, when Ryan Walters does something, it has national ramifications--at least in his own mind.
According to Walters, he is leaving to become CEO of a right-wing non-profit group, The Teacher Freedom Alliance. Exactly how non-profit it actually is remains a little cloudy. The organization isn't quite a year old and hasn't filed any paperwork with either state, or federal agencies. What is known is it's affiliated with the Freedom Foundation, which describes itself as a, "conservative think tank." In his announcement Walters said one of his main goals as the CEO will be to, "...destroy the teachers unions." He added, "We have seen teachers unions use money and power to corrupt our schools, to undermine our schools."
Of course, that was one of Walters' main goals while he was Superintendent, although many have argued, with ample evidence, the head of Oklahoma's public schools chief aim was to destroy public education itself. During his term he failed to destroy the teachers' unions, but when it came to corrupting and undermining public schools, he did a bang-up job all by himself. During his watch the state has now fallen to 50th in education out of 51. (The District of Columbia school system is counted in the rankings.)
Despite his spectacular lack of success as Superintendent--his bible in every classroom order is still unfulfilled and his mandate requiring districts to report the addresses of pre-teen immigrant students was so odious even Oklahoma's ultra conservative governor railed against it--Walters was considered a rising MAGA star, at least locally. Most of his abbreviated stay in office was spent shamelessly indulging himself in what can only be described as over the top, yet decidedly cheap, performance art. However, the man did know how to blow smoke up asses and make a lot of noise. In 21st century American politics those are two indispensable qualities.
Up until Wednesday night Ryan Walters was considered a serious player in the 2026 Oklahoma gubernatorial race. His name recognition was through the roof and his bi-polar like behavior--he can go from bellicose bully to self-pitying martyr at the drop of a hat--has a genuine Trumpian feel to it. Not to mention in this state if you are a republican, any sort of republican, winning the GOP primary means you are in. There isn't a democrat currently alive in Oklahoma who can win a state-wide race.
At the moment the highest profile republican candidate for governor is state Attorney General, Genter Drummond. He knew all too well the political threat Walters presented. He has been taking shots at the Superintendent and current Governor, Kevin Stitt for months now. Stitt is term limited so can't run again, but Drummond won't let anyone forget that Stitt appointed Walters as Secretary of Education back in 2020. The Governor has spent much of his time in the intervening years trying to get the beast he set loose on the public school system back in the cage.
Then in July came the scandal which might have set all this in motion. During a state board of education meeting a TV in Walters' office was on and two members were stunned to see a couple of naked women on the screen. It wasn't the sort of thing expected from a guy who once demanded every student and teacher in Oklahoma watch a video of him praying. ("You may join me, or watch quietly," he told them.) The shit immediately hit the fan.
An investigation was launched by the Oklahoma City Police, Sheriff's Department and the local DA. Walters called a news conference and claimed the whole thing was a plot hatched by Governor Stitt. That the board members were liars who should resign immediately. That yea, dark forces were out to stop him and his crusade.
The investigation found that yes, the TV was on and yes there was female nudity, but it wasn't a porn movie per se, and Walters wasn't at fault. The police said the television had been turned on and automatically went to a default channel. Walters, to this day, still claims the board members were lying and any reporting to the contrary is, "false." Questions remained. The main one being, why the fuck is an elected official watching TV in his office first place? Especially one with a default setting to a cable movie channel featuring imported martial art films and nudity.
Yes, it could well have been that loyalty tests for incoming teachers, or asking the state to buy thousands of bibles from a company Donald Trump is invested in. It might have even been the falling test scores, or all the money he spent on out of state PR firms to make him a national figure. However, it wasn't any of that. What might have ended Ryan Walters political ambitions was an Asian made martial arts flick that had one, or two scenes with, nekkid women in them.
Or, maybe it wasn't. In March of this year--four months before the TV debacle--a state legislator accused the Superintendent of ethics abuse. (Not the first time by any means.) The claim was that he improperly used the Department of Education's official letterhead to publicly applaud and endorse that brand new anti-union group, The Teachers Freedom Alliance. Even Genter Drummond didn't think it was anything at the time. He dismissed the complaint out of hand.
Was that endorsement a coincidence? Given what happened Wednesday it turns out it might have been a job application. Maybe the whole TV thing was just the final straw for Ryan Walters. During his tenure he burned a lot of political bridges. According to many reports practically everyone at the capitol complex hates his guts. Maybe he knew that even if he did become governor, he'd never be able to get anything done. Maybe he simply got tired of working in a place that wouldn't let him do exactly what he wanted when he wanted, someplace where he had to answer to others. Or--and this is my favorite; it's the romantic in me--maybe he is just another con man who knows when the scam has run its course and is blowing town before he gets nailed for good.
In any event, bye-bye Ryan. We knew you too well.
9-26-25
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