This article was originally delivered to subscribers of our Education Watch newsletter. Sign up now to receive Education Watch directly in your inbox.
At least nine staff members have resigned from the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics so far this year, and it’s a small agency with an average of 51 on the payroll.
Nine employees left in 2025, and 12 did in 2024. Why does it matter? While some turnover is at an agency is expected, excess turnover can be a sign that the culture there isn’t positive.
This data on the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics came in a little too late for my recent story, Oklahoma’s Elite State Boarding School Refuses to Adopt Title IX Protections. A Departing Administrator Called It a Crisis Waiting to Happen. But it’s worth noting, because it shows folks like Cecil Lewis, who resigned after just a few months with a dire warning to the school’s board, aren’t isolated departures.
Also, on Wednesday the governor’s office released a report by former Secretary of Education Dan Hamlin on the state of education in Oklahoma. He recommends these reforms to improve school finances:
• lift penalties for district carryover funds when the money is used for teacher compensation;
• restrict school calendar waivers (to hold school fewer than the minimum number of days) to districts that received an A on state report cards;
• eliminate some of the 3,000 codes used to report spending in the Oklahoma Cost Accounting System;
• allow some...
Accusing Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan of falsely claiming that he met K.H. Mohammed Hussain, an accused in the MDMA case, only after he was injured in the police action during the Left Democratic...