A lawsuit filed by Bixby Public Schools Superintendent Rob Miller in Tulsa County District Court accuses Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters, in his personal capacity, of making “false, defamatory, and malicious untruths” about Miller.
According to court documents, Superintendent Walters called Superintendent Miller a “liar,” an “embarrassment,” and a “clown” as well as made claims that Miller is an untrustworthy steward of the tax dollars that fund his school district.
Those statements came after Miller had inquired, with the school year approaching, about when the district would receive its federal Title I allocation projections for the following school year.
Miller posted on social media on July 27th that districts had not received Title I allocations from the state, adding that under the previous administration, those figures would arrive in early May.
According to the court filing, when asked about Miller’s inquiry by a reporter, Walters responded with the following remarks:
“He’s a liar. I mean, he’s really a true embarrassment. He knows every year when he gets the Title I funds, and we’re dealing with all kinds of financial problems with his district that we’re hoping to address right now. So you know, Rob — Rob’s a clown and a liar. So he knows that. Same time every year — at least late August. It’s the same way it’s been every year for, my team tells me, over a decade. So he knows that has been communicated to districts. Rob’s never reached out, never indicated there’s an issue. There’s not an issue. He made it up. So he wants his name in the press.”
The case document further details additional remarks released by an education department spokesperson.
“It’s unfortunate the Bixby superintendent continues to lie about Supt. Walters and more people are falling for it. He should be more concerned with getting his finances in order than avoiding accountability.”
Before this filing, Miller responded to those remarks in another social media post saying, “Sir, your remarks crossed a line today. You owe me and @BixbyPS (Bixby Public Schools) an apology.”
The suit seeks damages of in excess of $75,000, plus exemplary/punitive damages as permitted by law.
Miller’s lawsuit is aimed at Walters personally, not in his official role.
The following statement was released through the Oklahoma State Department of Education in response to the lawsuit:
“No one is surprised that Miller would abuse the legal system by filing a frivolous lawsuit after trying for days to defame Superintendent Walters in the media. This lawsuit is a political stunt by a man with a vendetta, not a legal case.”
Click here to read the petition
Earlier this week, a group of Republicans serving in the Oklahoma Legislature released a letter in response to what they called “disparaging” remarks Walters made about Miller.
The letter said, in part, “Over the past four years, we’ve witnessed Ryan Walters’ often questionable leadership. In the past two weeks, he has violated the Open Meetings Act, denied legislators access to executive sessions, deprived districts of rolled-over money meant for school safety and now is putting children’s lives at risk by withholding appropriated funds for emergency asthma inhalers.”
Representatives Josh West, R-Grove, Ty Burns, R-Pawnee, and Chris Banning, R-Bixby all signed the letter, which you can read by clicking here.
Also this week, state Representative Mark McBride, a Republican from Moore, began the process of asking House Speaker Charles McCall to form an investigative committee to look into Walters and the state board of education.