'It Was Very Unprofessional': Lawmaker Responds To Tensions With OSDE

Tensions rising between the Oklahoma State Legislature and the Department of Education. One lawmaker called out an OSDE staffer for what he calls 'childish behavior.'

Republican House Representative Mark McBride says the legislature has struggled to communicate with OSDE on spending, among other issues. However, McBride says the latest communication he received took it too far.

"You know it's been going on for a long time,” McBride said.

McBride is the chair of the education appropriation and budget committee.

"My job is to see to it that money gets to education and gets to education in the right ways," McBride said.

He says the lack of communication from OSDE and State Superintendent Ryan Walters is not new.

"It's hard for anybody, whether it's a superintendent or the legislature, to get any information out of the Department of Ed,” he said.

But after months of information requests about teacher signing bonuses, OSDE spending, and emails from Walters went unanswered, McBride put his foot down.

"Wednesday, I sent and I said you know we need answers to these questions,” McBride explained. “And that's when somebody from the department of ed slipped this sarcastic little letter under my door."

The letter read ‘Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me,’ and it was sent by OSDE Senior Policy Advisor Matt Langston.

"I thought it was very unprofessional," McBride said.

We reached out to Matt Langston for an interview but did not receive a response.

Langston did release a statement responding to McBride Friday, calling McBride a 'whiney Democrat' and saying in part '...McBride continues to cry for attention while promoting failed policies, backing woke indoctrination, and promoting porn in schools...'

"Really it's kind of childish. I’m not a Democrat," McBride clarified.

He says there's a bigger picture at hand.

"It needs to be about the kids," McBride said.

He says transparency and communication between OSDE and the legislature is the only way forward.

"They need to do the business that the people elected them to do," McBride said.