Tentative Agreement Reached In OSDE Teacher Bonuses Case

A tentative agreement has been reached in the case of the State Department of Education taking back some teacher bonuses.

In January, 9 teachers were told they had to pay back $50,000 bonuses given by the State Department of Education. 

Two of those teachers sued for breach of contract and defamation.

One teacher’s attorney could not give News 9 details on the settlement because of confidentiality and because it was not finalized.

He did share that he expected his client and OSDE to sign the settlement by next week, wanting to wrap things up sooner rather than later, so this teacher can get back to her job instead of being dragged through the courts.

Mark Hammons tells me the best outcome is that his client does not have to pay the $50,000 back, saying she is willing to complete her contract under the terms she signed onto - as long as she doesn't have to pay all that money back.

OSDE responded to News 9’s request for comment and said they cannot comment due to pending litigations.

And all eyes have been on OSDE not just for this lawsuit, but also 

on the money they've spent on outside PR firms. 

On Friday evening, the governor responded to this.

Governor Kevin Stitt has just signed the Education Limits Bill but vetoed a major part of it.

The legislation as a whole laid out what the State Department of Education can and can't spend taxpayer dollars on.

Lawmakers had put in a section that OSDE should not be using taxpayer dollars for securing media interviews or public promotional purposes.

That entire section was vetoed with Gov. Stitt saying this would prevent the department from fulfilling its duties and obligations to Oklahoma students.

Ryan Walters said in a statement: 

"Oklahomans are not fooled by the political gamesmanship and reached out in huge numbers to remind everyone that the parents are in charge."

Gov. Stitt issued an executive order Friday evening, banning "wasteful PR spending.” This would prohibit state agencies from entering into sole source contracts with public relations, marketing, or communications firms and vendors.