It’s a big week for the college towns of Oklahoma’s two biggest universities, with those in Norman recovering from jousting wounds and mead hangovers from the annual Medieval Fair and those in Stillwater gearing up or hunkering down for four nights of red dirt legends Cross Canadian Ragweed — an event one journalist called “four nights of Bedlam” in terms of how many people are traveling to town.
Even though Norman’s annual fair is over, that city remains busy with other news. In this roundup, learn about a city councilor’s no contest plea to embezzlement, updates on the controversial arena TIFs and a dissident’s legal future after being arrested for criticizing the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office.
Outside of Norman, read about two lawsuits involving OSDE, a legal battle between the Choctaw Nation and Flincto Construction, possible new land for the Oklahoma County Jail and the loss of three Oklahoma public servants.
Walters wins ‘key legal battle’ in negligent bullying prevention lawsuit
In an order filed March 6, an Oklahoma County district judge ruled in favor of the Oklahoma State Department of Education, dismissing claims the department, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters and the State Board of Education acted negligently regarding bullying within Keys Public Schools.
“Time and again, we have faced baseless attacks, and time and again, they have failed,” Walters said in a March 21 press release. “The law is on our side. This ruling affirms that we have met our responsibilities and will continue working to ensure the best outcomes for Oklahoma’s students and families.”
The grandmother and legal guardian of two KPS students filed the lawsuit November, asserting that despite making multiple reports and attempts to jumpstart an investigation, OSDE and Walters were derelict in their responsibilities outlined by the Bullying Prevention Act.
The plaintiff’s two elementary level grandchildren allegedly faced both physical and mental abuse by the hands of their biological mother. The plaintiff claimed that, owing to the students’ “horrific home situation,” her grandchildren were often barred from attending school and were deprived of food — subsequently leading to malnutrition and “physically, socially and academically” stunted development. The plaintiff cites this as the catalyst for the bullying her grandchildren faced in school.
Additionally, the plaintiff alleged her case was not properly investigated owing to OSDE’s mass exodus of employees in 2023, the introduction of the new Awareity system to track abuse, and Walters’ focus on “woke political media.”
The plaintiff’s petition argued that:
- “OSDE negligently abdicated its monitoring duty under the Bullying Prevention Act by erroneously dismissing plaintiff’s complaint as a ‘local control’ matter;”
- “Absence of procedural due process provides defendants star-chamber secrecy to hide arbitrary and capricious investigative decisions depriving students’ relief from bullying school culture;” and
- “Superintendent Walters is derelict in administrative duties prioritizing culture war messaging.”
Walters’ urged for dismissal under the basis of the five following arguments:
- “Plaintiffs have failed to sufficiently plead their claims pursuant to [Title 12, Section 2008(A)(1)];”
- “Declaratory relief is improper in the instant case;”
- “Judicial review of board actions when acting in an executive capacity violates separation of powers principles;”
- “Plaintiff failed to exhaust administrative remedies;” and
- “Plaintiff’s claims are barred by sovereign immunity.”
Oklahoma County District Judge Aletia Haynes Timmons granted the State Board of Education’s motion to dismiss March 3, the same day as her retirement party. Timmons is now running for the House District 97 seat vacated this week by new Oklahoma County Commissioner Jason Lowe.
“The lawsuit, filed over concerns regarding school bullying, mischaracterized OSDE’s role. The department has taken appropriate steps to provide schools with a strong framework and resources to address bullying, ensuring compliance with state law,” Walters said in his release. “The court’s ruling confirmed that OSDE fulfilled its duties, stating: ‘Therefore ordered, adjudged, decreed that all claims asserted by the plaintiff (…) are dismissed.'”
The plaintiff has filed a motion to vacate the dismissal, which is pending.
Walters, OSDE file lawsuit against Wisconsin-based religious freedom organization
In a March 31 press release, Walters announced he and the State Department of Education filed litigation against the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation for their “blatant attack on the religious freedoms (…) of Oklahoma students,” particularly Christian students.
FFRF sent a Dec. 17 cease and desist letter to Achille Public Schools Superintendent Rick Beene demanding the district’s schools immediately stop teaching Bible lessons and allegedly coercing students to observe or participate in school-sponsored prayer.
This is not the first instance FFRF has sent a letter to an Oklahoma public school, as mentioned in Walters’ petition to the court.
“We won’t stand idly by while atheists try to erase faith,” Walters said as his reason behind the lawsuit.
The organization said they received a message from a concerned parent regarding the district’s decision to include prayer during morning announcements over both the elementary and high school intercom systems.
“Our complainant reports that the district has a custom and practice of beginning each school day with ‘mandatory student-led prayer’ over the schools’ intercom systems,” wrote FFRF staff attorney Samantha Lawrence. “We’re informed that after the morning bell a student announces ‘a moment of silence or prayer,’ followed by the student praying over the intercom. (…) Our complainant tells us that students cannot skip the morning prayer since it occurs after the first period has already started, so students are ‘counted late’ if they arrive after the prayer.”
Walters’ petition argues the statute permitting districts to establish a moment of silence for those “who wish to do so,” Title 70, Section 11-101.1, allows students to participate in voluntary prayer.
“Oklahoma will never be bullied by radical, out-of-state atheists who use intimidation and harassment against kids,” Walters said in his press release. “The Freedom From Religion Foundation has no stake in our schools, no authority over our communities and absolutely no right to trample on the First Amendment. Their threats are nothing more than a desperate attempt to erase faith from public life, and we will fight them at every turn.”
In 2014, Title 25, Section 2003 of state statute, established the “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” offering parents more autonomy regarding decisions about their children’s mental and medical health, education and religious training in public schools.
Cited in the March 31 petition, the Parents’ Bill of Rights includes various provisions for parents to opt their child out of certain curriculum, material and activities. Walters’ legal counsel asserted that if there really was a “concerned parent,” all that individual would’ve had to do is file the appropriate opt-out forms and inform their student’s teacher.
Referencing FFRF’s mission to protect citizens’ constitutional right to freedom of religion and the organization’s “trendy disdain for deep religious conviction,” Walters’ petition noted the U.S. Constitution does not specifically establish a separation of church and state.
“FFRF claims as its basis for such interference as its desire to ‘promote the constitutional principle of separation of church and state.’ Curiously, neither the word ‘separation’ nor the word ‘church’ appears anywhere in the text of the United States Constitution,” Walters’ legal complaint said. “By contrast, the Declaration of Independence makes reference to God, a ‘creator,’ a ‘supreme judge’ and ‘divine providence,’ thereby solidifying the notion that a complete ‘separation of church and state’ was never the intention of the nation’s founders.”
Although Walters’ petition makes a popular argument commonly used to promote the inclusion of religious expression in public spaces, the concept at hand is enshrined in the First Amendment, which prohibits Congress from “respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The Declaration of Independence also holds no legal authority in the U.S. today.
Walters and OSDE are seeking declaratory and injunctive relief by enjoining FFRF from taking action to prevent Achille Public Schools students from exercising their religious rights.
Norman Councilmember Austin Ball pleads no contest
Austin Ball, whose term representing Ward 1 of the Norman City Council runs into July, has pleaded no contest to the charges of embezzlement and false certificate by a public officer that were filed during his failed reelection campaign earlier this year.
Ball claimed his wife made more than $1,400 in purchases from his campaign account without his permission or knowledge, according to the affidavit of an OSBI officer who investigated the case. Ball was also accused of using campaign money to pay for a dental procedure. His wife, Kayla Ball, also faces an embezzlement charge. She was set to appear in court April 2, but that has been rescheduled for June.
In February municipal elections, Ball was defeated by David Michael Jordan Gandesbery, earning 23.11 percent of the vote to Gandesbery’s 64.78 percent. The election took place after Ball’s arrest and the resurfacing of prior charges of domestic abuse while he lived in Colorado.
“Once the outcome of my court case is concluded, I hope the media gives it the same coverage they did before the election,” Ball wrote in a Facebook post after losing the Feb. 11 election.
According to court documents obtained by The Norman Transcript‘s Sam Royka, Ball will serve a two-year deferred sentence. As part of his plea deal, Ball must undergo a substance abuse evaluation and follow any recommendations arising from it. He must also pay $960 in prosecution reimbursement fees. If Ball upholds those terms, his case will be dismissed.
“Ultimately just glad to put this behind us and finish out my term the way we started, by putting Norman first and standing firm on what we believe in,” Ball said in a post to Facebook.
In that post, he placed blame on his wife and said he took the deal because his two limited sources of income — disability payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the council’s $100 monthly stipend — left him with the decision to “pay for a lawyer or two month’s rent.”
“Since my wife had her breakdown and relapse with drugs and alcohol and cleaned out not only my campaign account, but also our personal savings, and wrecked our car and left me and the kids with nothing a year ago, I’ve been doing my best to just keep a roof over their heads and make sure they have normalcy in their lives through all this,” Ball wrote.
Kayla Ball commented on a repost of Ball’s message, disputing his claims.
“He refuses to get a job. I did not relapse. I’m not a drunk. He blames his whole life problems on me. He was using drugs since I was in diapers,” she wrote. “This is the narrative he likes to spin because I sit quietly. I’m over sitting in silence. He doesn’t know how to take accountability.”
Gandesbery will take office in July.
Oklahoma County purchases land for possible swap
On March 25, the Oklahoma County Board of Commissioners voted 2-1 to acquire a $6 million tract of land that will likely be used in a future land swap deal with Crooked Oak Schools.
The small school district in eastern Oklahoma County would use the 33 acres at 1100 S. Eastern Ave. to move its football stadium in anticipation of the county building a new jail site at 1901 E. Grand Boulevard. The purchase follows months of negotiations between the county and the school district. The school’s current football stadium and baseball field sit at Eastern Avenue and Southeast 22nd Street. While the physical distance from the new jail and mental health facility would be about the same, the new property would be closer to the rest of the Crooked Oak campus.
District 3 Commissioner Myles Davidson and District 1 Chief Deupty Joe Blough voted in favor of the transaction. District 2 Commissioner Brian Maughan opposed the purchase.
“This move positions the county well,” Davidson told News 9. “Even if the land swap doesn’t happen, we’re securing prime real estate that could generate future revenue or serve as a key development site.”
Maughan told The Oklahoman the county doesn’t have extra money to throw around.
“I just want to say for the record, I’m opposing this because we don’t have enough money to build the jail already, and this is going an extra $6 million (in debt), that even though it’s not the jail bond, it is money that could be used for the construction of the jail,” he said.
It remains unclear when the land swap might be finalized.
In other county news, Oklahoma County Clerk Maressa Treat has submitted the county’s 2022-23 financial report to Moody’s as part of Moody’s evaluation of the county’s credit rating. That had been in doubt following a missed filing deadline, which was later extended. Treat met that deadline by filing the 2022-23 report. Problems with the county’s credit rating could have had an impact on the $260 million in bonds voters approved in 2022 for a new county jail, among other county debt issuances.
Supreme Court takes up Norman TIF referendum case
After Cleveland County District Judge Jeff Virgin blocked a public vote on controversial tax increment financing districts in Norman, the Oklahoma Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal of that decision.
The twin TIF districts would provide funds to build an entertainment district and a new arena for use by the University of Oklahoma, but the project’s price tag of up to $600 million in public contributions has rankled many residents. More than 10,000 voters signed a petition to take the TIFs to a public referendum, but Virgin ruled that the referendum’s “gist” — exactly what it sounds like, a simple explanation of what is being proposed — was “insufficient.”
On March 28, the Oklahoma Supreme Court granted a motion by the appellees, those arguing against the petition, to put the case on the court’s fast-track docket. According to the schedule posted by the court, briefing should be concluded in May.
Court of Civil Appeals declines to enforce arbitration clause in Durant casino case
The Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals affirmed a Bryan County judge’s decision not to enforce an arbitration clause in a contract between the construction management company Flintco and the Choctaw Nation. Flintco managed the construction of the Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant, but the nation alleged the company cut corners and failed to install several safety features in the building.
“Some of the conditions of the projects discovered include, but are not limited to, the following: fire stops not installed, missing firewalls that were never constructed/installed, other walls not constructed/installed, missing fire safing, missing fire caulking, undersized hot water pipes and other fireproofing and life safety related issues,” the nation’s attorneys wrote.
In 2005, Flintco and the Choctaw Nation signed a contract for the construction of a hotel and casino in Durant. In 2010, the building held its grand opening and operated for more than a decade without incident.
During remodels in 2021, the nation discovered the alleged construction defects, and in 2023, the tribe filed suit against Flintco for damages related to the faulty construction.
Flintco argued the nation should have brought their disagreement to arbitration under the 2005 contract’s arbitration clause, but the district court found the arbitration clause did not include fraud claims. The appellate panel agreed.
The suit is not the first legal dispute among the parties. In 2015, both Flintco executives and Choctaw Nation officials were sentenced in federal court for involvement in a kickback scheme.
Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office critic will face no charges
After the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office arrested and quickly released Michael Reynolds for Facebook posts in January, it seems the frequent critic of the department will face no charges after all.
Reynolds, 54, runs “Wilder News,” a Facebook account that often aggregates news with Reynolds’ commentary. He has criticized the department’s finances under Sheriff Chris Amason and deaths at the Cleveland County Jail.
After Reynolds posted information about a series of car accidents involving an on-duty deputy sheriff, Reynolds was arrested in alleged violation of Title 21, Section 1176, which limits using electronic communications to publicly identify police officers with the intent to harass or threaten them.
According to reporting by J.C. Hallman of Oklahoma Watch, Reynolds is now in the clear. Hallman reported the Cleveland County District Attorney’s Office recused from the case Feb. 12, passing it off to the Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who dismissed the case March 26.
“First off, I appreciate everyone who had my back from the jump. This whole thing has been a wild ride,” Reynolds wrote on Facebook. “But honestly? I wouldn’t change a damn thing. Because now, more eyes are open. People who once shrugged off corruption and backroom deals are starting to pay attention and that, well, that’s a huge problem for those who thrive in the dark.”
Oklahomans mourn Marvin York, Herman Meinders, Johnny Christian
In the past three weeks, Oklahoma has lost several public servants in different sectors.
Former Sen. Marvin York, 92, died March 22. He served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1969 to 1973, then in the Oklahoma Senate from 1977 through 1987. He served as Senate president pro tempore from 1981 to 1985.
York told The Oklahoman in 1984 that accomplishments he was most proud of as pro tempore included reducing the number of Senate committees and ensuring no senator served on more than one committee a day, requiring a quorum be present to take action on a bill and eliminating the practice of committee chairmen taking a bill to each member of a committee individually to sign off on its advancement to the Senate floor.
He said his biggest regret was failing to secure Senate support to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.
“I wanted to pass it more than any bill I undertook,” he said.
Bryan County Sheriff Johnny Christian, 58, died unexpectedly at home March 27, according to his department.
Christian, a fourth-generation resident of Bryan County, won election to his post in 2016, 2020 and 2024. According to The Oklahoman, he became sheriff, served as a U.S. Marine paratrooper, field radio operator, and forward observer, and then served for 25 years in the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. His funeral drew hundreds of people who remembered the sheriff fondly, according to KTEN.
“Always smiling, except for those of us who had an experience with him at the Academy,” said Oklahoma Highway Patrol Capt. Scott Hampton, who was trained by Christian at the OHP Academy. “Held you to the best you could be, but as a friend, as a partner, we worked together. And as a sheriff, he was a great individual to be around.”
Philanthropist Herman Meinders, 87, died March 30. Meinders founded American Floral Services in 1970, which eventually grew to become the largest flowers-by-wire service in the world, with 23,000 member florists in the U.S. and Canada and 50,000 florists in foreign countries.
Meinders made many philanthropic contributions throughout the state, including $50 million to Oklahoma City University, where the school of business bears his name, and donations to the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Community Literacy Center, Land Run Memorial and Capitol Dome Project. He also donated his ranch to become a camp for the Boy Scouts of America.
According to his obituary, Meinders often said, “Success means nothing if you don’t share it.”
