OK Education Secretary stands by criticism of schools which closed campuses due to lack of staff

TULSA — Tuesday, Oklahoma Education Secretary Ryan Walters accused school administrators of acting out of fear, instead of in the best interests of their students, when they shuttered some classrooms and switched to virtual learning in the face of an ongoing spike in COVID cases.

Those comments drew hundreds of responses from parents, educators, and others, on Twitter as well as Facebook.

Wednesday, KRMG reached Walters by phone for comment on his initial post, and the virtual firestorm it touched off on social media.

He stood by his initial posts, and told KRMG he didn’t understand why they angered people.

“Do you see where that might have irked some folks?” KRMG reporter Russell Mills asked Walters.

“No, I don’t,” Walters replied. “I’m asking them to explore all options. And I’m telling all of the administrators that want to have a conversation with me, I want to help.”

Our entire interview, unedited, can be heard HERE, or by using the audio player below.

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