Did you spend the end of May watching the Oklahoma Legislature like a hawk until the wee hours of the morning? Did you spend the first week of June lying face down on the floor trying to recover?
If your end-of-session/school stress kept you from keeping up with Oklahoma news items and local issues, don’t worry: The following roundup includes updates on storylines worth following.
In the education realm, Oklahoma’s controversial new social studies standards remain up for debate in court, and the boards of regents governing the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University likely have some tuition decisions to make this week. Meanwhile, new polling is out on the 2026 gubernatorial race, and state politicos had kind words for a late lawmaker who passed last month.
Learn about those items and more below.
Capitol service honors Rep. Larry Ferguson as ‘one of the greats’
More than 100 people stood in the Oklahoma State Capitol’s fourth-floor rotunda May 27 to honor former newspaperman and Pawnee County Rep. Larry Ferguson, who died May 23 at age 87.
A Republican who preached people over party, Ferguson represented House District 35 from 1985 until 2005, serving as House minority leader from 1991 through 1997. He ran The Cleveland American newspaper, and the Ferguson family also operated the Pawnee Chief and the Hominy News-Progress.
Ferguson’s funeral service drew state political and civic leaders to the Capitol rotunda to hear stories and memories of the well-liked man.
“He thought of this hallowed Capitol as just that — hallowed. A second home. A place to do some of the most important work to serve the Oklahoma people,” one of Ferguson’s children, Kari Watkins, said during the service. “He said once when he was elected in Pawnee, Noble and Osage counties, in those days there were more registered cattle than Republicans, and half of those cattle were his. I wasn’t sure about that, but I called Secretary (of Agriculture Blayne) Arthur on Sunday afternoon to confirm that, and she tells me that was accurate. (…) You know how important it was for him to bring people together.”
Asked about Ferguson before the service began, Senate Appropriations and Budget Committee Chairman Chuck Hall said he met the man he considered a mentor in the late 1980s while lobbying for the Bankers Association.
“Rep. Ferguson was my representative,” said Hall (R-Perry). “He taught me a lot about politics. I know the family well. I still continue to represent the family. They’re my constituents, and it’s an honor to be able to have him lay in repose and do a quick service for him in the fourth-floor rotunda.”
Hall said Ferguson would talk to him about the editorial considerations he weighed when deciding how “to put things in the paper.”
“He was always surprised that many of his readers just really weren’t fully informed about what happened up here at the Capitol and the decisions they were making on their behalf. So he took great pride in making sure they were informed and that they understood what was happening up here and how the decisions we made affected lives back home,” Hall said. “As long as I come up here and have the constituency on the forefront of my mind always, then I feel like I’m doing a good job. I learned a lot of that from Rep. Ferguson. He served in the minority (party), so all he could do was work with the other side of the aisle to the best of his ability, be a respected opinion around here — for which he was — and from that he was able to advance policy that maybe many members of the minority part at that time couldn’t do.
“He understood the value of working across party lines and coming to a resolve that benefits all Oklahomans. He was one of the greats at that, and I will miss him for that.”
Stitt says ‘we don’t need a tuition increase’ with OU, OSU regents to meet
The boards of regents for the University of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Agricultural & Mechanical Colleges are both set to gather June 12 and 13 this week for their annual summer meetings that feature deeper conversations about the futures of state universities and decisions about tuition and fees for the upcoming academic year. OU regents will be conducting an overnight retreat at the Noble Research Institute Conference Center in Armodre, while OSU/A&M regents will be on the campus of OSU-OKC. The OSU/A&M regents have a general agenda posted, while an OU agenda was not available prior to the publication of this article.
For each of the past four years, the OU Board of Regents has approved tuition increases, even when state appropriations to higher education have increased. The governing board for Oklahoma State University, however, has held tuition flat five of the past six years.
During the legislative session that ended last month, both OU and OSU received hundreds of millions of dollars for capital projects on their campuses — $200 million for OU’s Pediatric Heart Hospital and $250 million for an OSU College of Veterinary Medicine overhaul. However, a requested new annual funding stream of $75 million for each university found little traction. Coupled with rising insurance costs and changes to federal research funding, the generally flat Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations could spur OU administrators to ask the board to hike tuition and fees for the fifth straight year.
During his tenure, OU President Joe Harroz has consistently framed tuition increases as a necessary way to improve academic opportunities while balancing “excellence and affordability.”
“If you look at the average amount per student that invested by the Legislature in our students, it’s around $4,600 per student. If you look at that number for Florida and Texas, it’s four-times that per student,” Harroz said after March’s board meeting. “If you look at the national averages for those peer-ish universities, it’s about two-and-a-half times us.”
At the time, Harroz acknowledged that OU and OSU receiving new $75 million annual appropriations would make it “politically” harder for a university to raise student tuition, but he said new state money should not be tied to holding tuition flat “when you really think about how we charge what a student pays.”
“When I talk about the average Oklahoma resident is paying 28 percent less than they did five years ago, how is that possible?” Harroz said. “It’s scholarships and discounting to meet that market. So the pricing of higher ed is not that politically satisfying, because it’s not as one-for-one as you [might think]. All of it is to say, if we get that $75 million, there’s no question we are having that conversation about what tuition increase would be reasonable.”
Ultimately, however, the Legislature passed a higher education budget that included only about $75 million more total for Fiscal Year 2026, which was designated for:
- Increased eligibility and payments for Oklahoma’s Higher Learning Access Program ($70 million)
- the Rising Scholars Award ($2.5 million)
- a new math tutoring program at OU ($3 million)
During his seven years in office, Gov. Kevin Stitt typically has opposed the idea of increasing tuition at higher education institutions, particularly on in-state residents. Asked about the potential for tuition increases to appear on this week’s OU and OSU/A&M meeting agendas, Stitt said the regents and presidents for OU and OSU have not shown him justification for making students pay more next academic year.
“My gut feeling is, no, we don’t need a tuition increase at this point,” Stitt said. “I don’t think we’ve gotten all the efficiency out of our universities, so I would encourage the boards to continue looking for efficiencies, look for tenured professors who maybe aren’t teaching as many classes as they should — so those are things I would push before they did a tuition increase.”
While this week will mark Harroz’s seventh summer retreat with the OU Board of Regents as president, new OSU President Jim Hess is still working through the fallout that led to his promotion. Both men are continuing to review how changes to federal grant funding will affect university budgets, and each is leading an academic institution that will now see its athletic department dedicate up to $20.5 million annually for direct payments to student athletes under terms of the House v. NCAA lawsuit settlement.
OU Athletic Director Joe Castiglione issued a statement via a series of quote tweets on X, stating that OU is “ready to share revenue at the maximum allowable amount and add scholarships to create financial certainty for our student-athletes.” The statement drew a confusing slate of negative responses from some accounts claiming to be fans of OU athletics.
Social studies standards injunction sought
Following a nearly three-hour hearing, Oklahoma County District Judge Brent Dishman abstained from ruling on opposing requests for a temporary restraining order and a motion to dismiss a lawsuit regarding alleged violations of the review process and the subsequent approval of the Oklahoma Department of Education’s social studies standards.
On May 28, former Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter appeared in court alongside co-counsel Lindsay Kristler to argue against the adoption of the controversial social studies standards until the conclusion of the lawsuit. Hunter is asking the court to declare the social studies standards invalid, null and void owing to State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters and staff within the Oklahoma State Department of Education allegedly failing to provide adequate notice and time to review changes made to the standards before pushing a vote for approval.
Purportedly made during the 11th hour of the standards’ review process, the changes now direct Oklahoma educators and students toward widely debunked theories of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
“We have the fact that the standards that were adopted by the process — the multi-month process — that were posted online, were different from what the board was asked to consider and adopt, and that’s inconsistent with the process,” Hunter said during the hearing. “I mean, the process didn’t allow for the superintendent to come in at the last minute and essentially shoehorn standards that hadn’t been deliberated, that hadn’t been a part of the multi-month process. And so that’s the violation, that’s what causes the standards to be unlawful, and the Legislature’s silent acquiescence in the standards needs to be found to be of no effect because the standard didn’t come to them lawfully.”
Kristler called for plaintiff and Putnam City High School teacher James Welch to testify on behalf of his experience as a volunteer on the writing committee for the social studies standards — one of three committees made up of “in the field teachers” and “experts” tasked with reviewing and revising the academic standards — focusing on the psychology and sociology curriculum.
Welch said he had concerns with the review process owing to an alleged lack of collaboration, stating it was “unusual” that he was the sole reviewer of the portions assigned to him for his specific grade level. Welch also said that during a one-day conference in October 2024, where committee members were asked to submit their final versions of the social studies standards, the volunteers were given a booklet containing standards from another state and were told to model Oklahoma’s standards after the academic standards provided.
Chad Kutmas, an attorney representing the State Board of Education and Walters’ motion for case dismissal, objected to the line of questioning and said it was “premature” to hear plaintiffs’ testimony before his clients’ motion to dismiss could be heard. Dishman overruled him and said Welch’s testimony lays out the foreground of the case.
Hunter and Kristler alleged Walters and the State Board of Education violated proper due process procedure outlined in the Oklahoma Administrative Procedures Act, and they alleged that the implementation of the standards violated educators’ First Amendment rights.
Welch said the adoption of the newly approved social studies standards would require him to teach from a “radical right-wing ideological viewpoint,” highlighting that after reviewing the final version of the standards, Welch noticed that all references of “diversity” were erased from the psychology and sociology curriculum, and teachings related to sexism and racism — matters he deems “very important” as it relates to sociological studies — were severely decreased.
“It’s about the fact that [teachers are] required to be compelled to teach on a specific viewpoint, which is a violation of the First Amendment as a government official, a public employee,” argued Kristler. “So that, in and of itself, shows that there is a legal right that is being violated with respect to Dr. Welch.”
Kutmas and OSDE general counsel Michael Beason presented two separate dismissal motions, arguing the plaintiffs have no standing or legal right to file the case or seek a preliminary injunction. Kutmas represented Walters and the State Board of Education’s motion to dismiss and Beason represented the department’s motion.
After over an hour of both parties’ attorneys picking apart state statute related to the review, revision and promulgation of the social studies standards, Dishman said he had enough information to rule on the temporary restraining order. But he said he would wait until all parties had adequate time to respond to the necessary filings. Hunter told media that he expects a ruling before the end of June.
OSBE meeting features minutes beef, emergency certification talk
Following a rally at the Oklahoma State Capitol where State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters spoke of the need to reform taxation during his address to “grassroots and concerned citizens,” all State Board of Education members were on their best behavior during a May 21 board meeting, a drastic change in comparison to prior meetings.
At the April board meeting, Walters immediately set the tone by accusing the newest board members — Ryan Deatherage, Chris VanDehende and Michael Tinney — of lying to media about the controversial social studies standards.
But at the May 21 meeting, Walters only mentioned the standards briefly.
“[We are] very excited to continue moving forward with the curriculum as we begin to develop that with our new standards,” Walters said. “We’re going to make sure with the new curriculum and new content being provided for kids, we’re preparing them for jobs. And so you’re gonna hear a lot from us as the summer moves on into next school year, but how curriculum is aligning to the jobs that Oklahoma needs, but also what aligns the talents for young people. So very excited about that.”
The only seemingly mild disagreement that surfaced between Walters and the board members involved approval of their February meeting‘s minutes.
Members made a motion to table the vote to approve the Feb. 27 meeting minutes during the April meeting, saying the provided record did not accurately reflect the motions made during the voting process on the social studies standards.
Board members pointed out during the April 24 meeting that the minutes had reflected Deatherage as the member who moved to approve the standards, despite Deatherage being the lone board member who voted in opposition of the standards approval. They noted that Deatherage’s motion to table approval of the standards, as well as the subsequent vote, were also not included in the meeting minutes.
Realizing the updates had not been made by the May meeting, Deatherage asked the board’s executive secretary Amy London identify the updates. London said that in order to save paper, she did not include the updated minutes in the members’ meeting information packets, but she said the updated minutes could be found online.
As a result, the board voted again to table approval of the February meeting minutes 5-1, with Walters voting in opposition.
As members swiftly made their way through the remaining agenda items with little to no strife, the board’s most recent appointee, Becky Carson, spoke about the impact of the state’s increase in emergency certified teachers, as well as teacher recruitment and retention.
“I understand the need to put quality educators in the classroom,” Carson said Wednesday. “I think [emergency certification] is a necessary — for lack of a better word — a necessary evil at this point. The school districts are doing the best that they can to find quality educators, but they’re just not here. And so I understand that need. When I was going through the information that I was sent, the fact that we have 4,500 emergency certificates in the state here today — even though I knew it when we were in a crisis — it kind of slapped me in the face.”
Board members went on to have lengthy discussions about Walters’ teacher bonus programs, training for emergency certified teachers and incentive programs. Eventually, the board entered into executive session to discuss the potential revocation of certain teacher certifications and student transfer appeals.
Returning to the board room almost two hours later, members started taking action on multiple teacher certifications before being interrupted by an unidentified man claiming to be an attorney representing Phillip Koons, the embattled former Ringling high school football coach accused of abusive and lewd conduct with players.
Board members were about to approve a motion to amend the application to revoke Koons’ teacher certification when the man spoke up.
“I do have concern, because this being an adjudicative matter, my client was not provided with any notice of the change of the date of [this] meeting,” Koons’ attorney said to the board. “We fortunately found out about it, which enabled me to be present here just a few hours before the meeting began. But because this is an adjudicative matter, it would be — I suggest [it would be] more appropriate to table that motion until appropriate communication can be had with staff and with counsel for the department, so that Mr. Koons’ due process rights are fully respected.”
Koons was charged Oct. 18, 2023, with one misdemeanor count of “outraging public decency” owing to his alleged actions while leading the Ringling football team. Former players have alleged that Koons was verbally abusive toward them, and he faces a civil lawsuit in federal court. The cases have divided the roughly 1,000-person community in southwest Oklahoma, with other former players and parents arguing Koons “never said anything that didn’t need to be said.”
Koons had initially pleaded no contest as part of a plea deal, but Jefferson County District Court Judge Dennis Gay rejected the arrangement after hearing victim impact statements from Koons’ former players. Koons was later allowed to change his plea to not guilty, and he now faces a September jury trial that could result in jail time, if he is found guilty.
Although board members said they could not honor the attorney’s request to stay the vote on Koons’ teacher certificate until the conclusion of any trial, the board did agree 6-0 to table the vote until its scheduled June 26 meeting.
Duncan residents seek audit of city’s finances
Amid ongoing drama between the city and the Duncan Area Economic Development Foundation and mounting concerns from Duncan residents about rising utility bills following the installation of smart meters, a citizens petition is now circulating to call for an independent audit of the city’s finances.
The petition, which must receive 1,365 valid voter signatures by June 10 in order for the State Auditor & Inspector’s Office to conduct an independent audit, seeks a thorough investigation into:
- If sales and use tax revenues were properly allocated and whether taxes were collected under Ordinances 1517 and 1641 without voter approval;
- Whether funds earmarked for the Duncan Area Economic Development Foundation were improperly co-mingled in the General Fund;
- If utility billing practices are accurate and if overcharges have exceeded $1 million;
- Whether the city has followed competitive bidding laws and procurement procedures in awarding contracts;
- If the city properly documented its 2010 contract for smart meters and
- Whether open records requests have been fulfilled in a timely manner.
The petition’s author, Duncan resident Allyson Greenroyd, said she started taking a deeper look into how the city handles revenue and tax dollars after numerous citizens voiced concerns about utility overbilling.
“What I found was alarming,” Greenroyd said. “Two illegal sales taxes had been collected for over 20 years, and other funds were being commingled or misused. When I began submitting open records requests to investigate further, the city repeatedly refused to comply, delaying or ignoring my lawful requests.”
Greenroyd said she’s been providing information to State Auditor Cindy Byrd’s office for two years to no avail. However, a spokesman for Byrd said concerns from an individual citizen do not constitute legal grounds for undertaking an investigative audit.
“Ms. Greenroyd has contacted the auditor’s office, but until we receive an official audit request, the auditor does not have the authority to initiate investigative audits on her own,” said Andrew Speno.
In a statement on Facebook, Duncan mayor Robert Armstrong said the city is independently audited every year and that results are sent to the State Auditor & Inspector’s Office. The city’s 2023 audit was completed in September 2024 and is available on the City of Duncan website.
“All of this information is available online and could have and should have been reviewed instead of baseless allegations being leveled by a handful of folks who are more interested in drama than facts and progress,” Armstrong said.
City manager Chris Deal told The Duncan Banner that the yearly independent audits have produced clean reports for the last eight years.
“We appreciate citizens reaching out with their concerns regarding city government’s operations,” Deal said. “As to the other concerns raised in this start up citizen petition, we are confident that our documentation provides all the information to address them. We are committed to community engagement to ensure transparency and accountability.”
Garfield County grand jury petition fails
A Garfield County petition to empanel a grand jury to investigate claims of negligence and crimes against children has failed.
On May 30, Logan County District Judge Jason Reese ruled that organizers did not submit enough valid signatures to meet the legal threshold. The petition, by Enid resident Mandy Harvey, sought to convene a grand jury “to investigate alleged crimes committed against children and their families by employees of Oklahoma state agencies responsible for child protection.” The petition called for investigations into several state employees, law enforcement officials, legal professionals and health care institutions.
A successful grand jury petition in Garfield County would have required 2,594 valid signatures from registered voters within a 45-day window. However, during the May 30 hearing, Reese noted that fewer than 300 signatures were verified by the Garfield County Election Board. Reasons for invalidation included incorrect addresses or signatures from individuals not registered to vote in the county.
Before the May 30 hearing, Harvey had filed a motion requesting that the court waive the statutory signature requirement, citing harassment and retaliation against those collecting signatures. In the motion, Harvey described several incidents intended to intimidate or interfere with volunteers’ efforts. She claimed those actions had a chilling effect on signature collection and hindered the petitioners’ constitutional right to seek government redress.
Harvey argued these actions created a climate of fear that discouraged participation. However, Reese ruled that under Oklahoma law, courts lack discretion to waive statutory signature thresholds for grand jury petitions.
With the statutory requirements unmet, the petition was formally voided. Despite the petition’s failure, there have been other efforts to investigate entities named in Harvey’s petition.
In 2023, an investigation found an “organized pattern of abuse and deception” and led to charges filed against six employees at the Robert M. Greer Center, one of the facilities named in Harvey’s petition. However, most of those charges were dismissed in 2024.
Polling: Drummond leads GOP race for governor
More than a year out from the state’s next gubernatorial election, Attorney General Gentner Drummond leads the pack of announced GOP candidates, according to a new poll from Sooner Survey.
Drummond announced his candidacy in January. According to the new poll, Drummond is the choice of 39 percent of those Republicans surveyed. Controversial Oklahoma Superintendent for Public Instruction Ryan Walters was favored by 12 percent of those surveyed. While he has yet to announce his 2026 plans, he has seemingly teased the idea of a gubernatorial race in recent weeks. Current Lt. Governor Matt Pinnell, who has also not publicly declared a candidacy, picked up 10 percent in the poll of 500 registered GOP primary voters.
Former Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall announced his bid for governor in February. He was the choice of just 5 percent of GOP voters. Former Sen. Mike Mazzei, who threw his hat into the ring in April, picked up 1 percent in the poll. Other prospective candidates, Chip Keating and former Sen. Jake Merrick, were at 3 and 1 percent, respectively.
Drummond’s personal approval rating is also the highest among all candidates, according to the poll. Drummond is viewed as strongly favorable, or slightly favorable, by a combined 53 percent of people polled. Walters was viewed as strongly favorable or slightly favorable by 37 percent of respondents.
However, Drummond received significant criticism last week for a press release he distributed “demanding the removal of thousands of Afghan nationals approved by Gov. Kevin Stitt” in 2021. In citing criminal incidents involving Afghan refugees in Virgnia and Oklahoma, Drummond criticized “this group of poorly vetted Afghan nationals” is putting “innocent lives at risk.”
Drummond, whose 2018 campaign against Mike Hunter featured a widely criticized TV ad that attempted to connect Hunter to the murder of Mollie Tibbetts in Iowa, received a particularly negative response to his new press release on Twitter, where comments accused Drummond of “xenophobia” and called him “immoral” and “shameful.”
In a statement to the Tulsa World, Stitt criticized Drummond’s press release for “using prejudice and fear tactics” to campaign for his 2026 race.
“It is unconscionable that anyone would suggest that we should have left them at the mercy of the Taliban,” Stitt said. “Individuals using their official platform to campaign for a higher office are using prejudice and fear tactics to sow discord. If the attorney general can identify laws being broken, he should use his existing authority to prosecute criminal activity. Oklahomans see through the political rhetoric.”
(Update: This article was updated at 9:10 a.m. Wednesday, June 11, to include comment from Andrew Speno.)
