State education board meeting suddenly postponed after member asks about violation
The monthly meeting of the Oklahoma State Board of Education was postponed Thursday after one member expressed concern after learning of a potential violation of the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act concerning the meeting agenda.
The Oklahoman reported Wednesday the agenda for Thursday's scheduled 1 p.m. meeting wasn't posted until 1:20 p.m. on the Oklahoma State Department of Education's public website. Under law, the agenda must be posted at least 24 hours before the start of the scheduled meeting. The agency spokeswoman, Grace Kim, said Wednesday afternoon the law's requirements had been met.
The Oklahoman's story also noted state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters – who is chair of the board by virtue of his elective office – had rejected requests from three new board members to include items on the agenda. During February's meeting, the three had clashed with Walters over his absolute control of the agenda.
Among the items requested by Ryan Deatherage, of Kingfisher; Michael Tinney, of Norman; and Chris VanDenhende, of Tulsa – appointed to the board by Gov. Kevin Stitt in early February – were requests to reconsider a vote taken in February to approve controversial new social studies academic standard (which Deatherage said he hadn't had time to read) to explore educational outcomes in Oklahoma and to consider a 'possible action of employment' concerning current board attorney Chad Kutmas.
At 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, after The Oklahoman's story had been published, Kutmas sent an email – obtained by the newspaper – to Walters saying 'we have been advised' that the agenda for Thursday's meeting had been posted at 1:19 p.m. and might not have met Open Meeting Act requirements. He blamed the state Office of Management and Enterprise Services for the late posting.
Kutmas sent another email to board members at 9:34 p.m., saying he'd spoken with board member Sarah Lepak 'about these late breaking developments' and that she believed it would be 'prudent' to not conduct the meeting as scheduled. 'In light of this, it is our recommendation that the meeting be continued.'
Lepak, from Claremore, is the board's longest-serving member and one of two members not replaced by Stitt last month. Her father is Republican state Rep. Mark Lepak and her brother is Ben Lepak, the governor's general counsel and a former member of the Statewide Charter School Board.
Kutmas, in his email, did not indicate if he spoke with any members of what now is a six-person board other than Lepak and Walters. Deatherage, Tinney, Van Denhende and Zachary Archer of Hammon.
Walters, at 10:47 p.m., said, 'In light of this, I don't believe we should go forward with the meeting tomorrow. I will announce (Thursday) the meeting will be continued to a later date so no need to make the trip over to OKC.'
A spokeswoman for the agency didn't immediately respond to questions about why the meeting was postponed or when it might be rescheduled.
There was no immediate word Thursday morning as to when the meeting might be rescheduled. State law mandates the state Board of Education to hold a regular meeting each month, but the board skipped its meeting last November with no legal consequences.
On the eve of the board's most recent meeting on Feb. 27, The Oklahoman reported that on at least one previous occasion, Walters had ignored a board member's request to place an item on the agenda for discussion. Walters and the new board members clashed during the meeting over the board members' inability to place items on the agenda without going through Walters.
On March 4, House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, introduced legislation that would allow board-member access to the agenda. House Bill 1491, which has the support of Stitt and state Senate President Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, would allow an item to be placed on the agenda if requested in writing by at least two members of the board. If that condition was met, the item then would be placed on the agenda for the next meeting or a subsequent meeting, as decided by the requesting board members.
The House approved the bill by an 80-16 vote on Wednesday night, moving it to the Senate for consideration.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State Board of Education meeting postponed Thursday
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