Two state troopers rushed through the crowd of parents, teachers and political protesters to break up two men who had pushed their chests together in an argument over who would be allowed to attend Thursday’s Oklahoma State Board of Education meeting.
Others began shouting and a man pushed a woman as staff locked a sliding glass in the lobby of the Oklahoma State Department of Education building.
“I’ve never been shoved at a board of education meeting before,” said Natasha Ball, a Tulsa parent who was waiting in line to enter the meeting.
State Education Board meetings, once mostly stale bureaucratic affairs involving talk of test scores and curriculum, have become a theater of political turmoil.
Sparking that new tone is Oklahoma state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters, the recently elected leader of the state’s public school system whose language has enraged many educators, but also made him a darling of a Republican base that believes schools have become indoctrination factories.
Ashley Daly, the parent of a Tulsa student, said Walters was helping to stir up the kind of confrontations she witnessed before Thursday’s meeting.
“I was out in the hallway when a woman got physically assaulted; she was walking in and a gentleman grabbed her and restrained her, and it was very upsetting to see,” Daly told Walters during the board meeting’s public comments. “I know you are getting tired of me saying this, but the rhetoric (you use) is upsetting and … angry, harsh words create violence.”
More:Ryan Walters calls for Ten Commandments in every classroom, promotion of ‘Western culture’
Some removed after confrontation in agency lobby
Some guests arrived more than two hours before the board meeting to get one of a few seats inside the board meeting room, or risk having to stand in a nearby hallway being used for the overflow crowd.
Before Thursday’s meeting, one man in the lobby was handing out numbers to people, including several supporters of Walters, telling those who received the ticket they would be assured a space inside.
But the receptionist in the lobby said she knew nothing about the number system and that the man was not affiliated with the Education Department.
The man, along with two others, were removed by state troopers who arrived after arguments broke out over who would be allowed inside.
The meeting itself was civil as the board discussed school districts using four-day weeks and recognized Rebecka Peterson, the national teacher of the year who is from Oklahoma.
But the public comments time has become a stage for both criticizing and praising Walters, with guests clapping in support of their side.
One woman in a “Make America Great Again” hat told the board she believed schools were indoctrinating and sexualizing students, while another man referred to teacher unions as terrorist organizations, both echoing words used by Walters.
More:Ryan Walters calls Oklahoma teacher unions a ‘terrorist organization’ in Capitol hearing
Education has long been a political focus in Oklahoma
But several other parents and teachers criticized Walters for attacking public schools, especially those with large populations of non-white students.
“I think we have to do better at disagreeing with one another,” Sarah Gallagher, a Tulsa parent, told Walters. “Even though I disagree with 90% of what you say, I listen to you, and I ask that you listen to us, too.”
While board meetings have not always been dramatic affairs, public education has often been a catalyst for political debate. Teachers shut down schools and rallied at the state Capitol in 2018 to advocate for higher pay and more classroom funding. A wave of teachers have run for office in recent years, and school choice was a significant focus of the recent legislative session, which drew many public education advocates to the state Capitol.
Peterson, the Tulsa educator who was recently named national teacher of the year and was recognized at Thursday’s meeting, said the crowds gathered at recent board meetings at least indicate an interest in public schools.
“I think it is clear that education is on the forefront of many of our minds,” Peterson told the board and audience. “No matter what letter is on your voter registration card, thank you for caring.”