Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters and his former spokesman are appealing a federal judge’s order to pay $170,000 in legal fees to KFOR. Walters, who was sued for blocking journalists from public meetings, settled the case but refused to admit he did anything wrong.
Walters has long been adversarial with the press and less than welcoming when it comes to public access. However, him barring the media from meetings took on a different light after he was recently accused of playing pornography on a TV in his office during an executive session with the state school board.
Here’s hoping the lawsuit creates a more public-friendly state Department of Education. If nothing else, $170,000 is a heavy chunk of change for Walters, who is paid $120,000 a year and apparently has a large movie streaming budget to maintain.
This article appears in Best of OKC 2025.