More Oklahoma school districts are pushing back against State Superintendent Ryan Walters, accusing him of spreading false and damaging claims about their finances. They say he’s misusing his platform to suggest that districts should illegally reallocate funds to cover one of his unfunded, unenforceable mandates.
Earlier this week, Walters directed all Oklahoma school districts to begin serving free lunches to every student immediately—without offering any funding to support the plan. Instead, he suggested that districts use their administrative budgets to pay for it.
“For far too long, we have seen public schools take taxpayer dollars meant for students and increase administrative costs, then charge parents for school lunches,” Walters said in an online video.
But lawmakers from both parties criticized the move, calling it legally invalid and financially unrealistic.
“They’re already capped. Districts can’t exceed a certain percentage for administrative costs,” said Sen. Mark Mann, D-Edmond. “This feels like a political stunt to get media attention.”
District leaders echoed those concerns, saying even if Walters had the legal power to enforce the directive, it would be impossible to implement without severe consequences. Bixby Public Schools told parents that following the order “would require catastrophic measures impacting all programming, staffing, and class sizes.”
Deer Creek Public Schools’ superintendent went further, dissecting Walters’ memo line by line and highlighting that state law prohibits schools from shifting most funds—like those for salaries or facilities—into meal programs.
Despite the backlash, Walters doubled down. On Wednesday, he emailed every public school parent in Oklahoma, singling out Bixby, Broken Arrow, Deer Creek, and Piedmont Public Schools. He claimed each district had tens of millions in surplus funds that could cover lunch costs.
That surprised Tara Thompson, spokesperson for Broken Arrow Public Schools, which Walters said has a $109 million surplus.
“I was surprised, yes,” Thompson said.
She explained Walters never contacted the district, and it appears he simply counted the total in the district’s accounts—money already budgeted for essentials like payroll, transportation, and utilities—and assumed it was all surplus.
“Even if those funds total $109 million, that’s not a surplus,” Thompson said. “We still have to make payroll, pay utilities, and cover fuel costs.”
She also said Walters likely included bond money in his surplus figure. But bond funds can legally only be used for specific, voter-approved projects.
“We can’t just redirect those funds,” Thompson said. “That money was approved by voters for specific purposes.”
While Thompson acknowledged that free school meals would be a noble goal, using bond funds for them would lead to legal consequences.
“There would be lawsuits, attorneys, and probably job losses,” she said. “The district could also face a downgraded bond rating. You can’t just operate without regard for state and federal law.”
Other districts named by Walters shared similar concerns. Piedmont Public Schools told parents in a letter, “We can’t imagine Walters would be suggesting we use bond money for student meals. That would clearly violate the law.”
The district also expressed frustration over having to continuously counter misinformation from the state superintendent.
“It’s unfortunate that school districts must spend time and resources correcting falsehoods from the state superintendent,” the letter stated.
Thompson added, “It’s frustrating to have our integrity questioned like this. Why can’t we just have a conversation? We’re educators—reach out and let us explain if there are questions or concerns.”
News 4 reached out to Walters’ office with detailed questions about his budget claims and the authority behind his directive. No one responded.
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