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Oklahoma Asks Some Teachers to Return Their 5-Figure Bonuses

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Oklahoma Asks Some Teachers to Return Their 5-Figure Bonuses


With four young children and a fifth on the way, Kristina Stadelman was ecstatic after qualifying for a $50,000 bonus for taking a hard-to-fill job as a special education teacher in Oklahoma. She used the money to finish home improvements and buy a new car for her growing family. Then a letter arrived from the Oklahoma State Department of Education: It told her she received the money in error and must repay it, quickly. “I don’t obviously have the money to pay it back by the end of February,” Stadelman tells the AP. “I came home the day I found out and just cried for two days straight.”

The errant payments, first reported by Oklahoma Watch, and the repayment demands have Oklahoma’s education agency drawing fierce criticism from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, some of whom say teachers shouldn’t be forced to give the money back. Average teacher pay in Oklahoma is about $54,800, which ranks 38th in the country, according to the National Education Association.

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The bonuses were awarded under an Oklahoma program that’s intended to help recruit new teachers for the most difficult jobs to fill. Oklahoma Watch reported that at least nine teachers were asked to return bonuses ranging from $15,000 to $50,000. A total of $185,000 went to teachers who didn’t qualify for the program at all, and $105,000 was overpaid to teachers who qualified for a lesser amount, the outlet reported. Stadelman said the letter she received said she was ineligible because she’d been employed as a full-time special education teacher in another district last year; she said she indicated that on her application.

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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters, who implemented the program, suggested in a memo sent Monday to legislative leaders that some of the errant bonuses were because teachers had “misrepresented their experience and qualifications.” He blamed the media for much of the fallout, writing they “exclud[ed] vital details on the contracts and our auditing system. Over 500 teachers were recruited to Oklahoma classrooms through this program.” Still, lawmakers from both parties have leveled fierce criticism at Walters and the agency. “It was up to the State Department of Education to provide proper oversight in the vetting and approval of the bonus recipients,” said state Rep. Rhonda Baker, chair of the House Common Education Committee.

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(More teacher stories.)





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Oklahoma City police investigating early morning shooting

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Oklahoma City police investigating early morning shooting


Oklahoma City police are investigating an early morning shooting that left one man injured in northeast Oklahoma City.

Around 3 a.m. on Thursday, emergency crews were called to a reported shooting near Kelley and Wilshire Blvd.

Investigators say the shooting occurred between a couple inside the home, adding that the woman shot the man.

However, police say they are trying to determine if the shooting was accidental.

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The victim was rushed to the hospital for treatment.

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The woman has been taken into custody for questioning, but it is unknown if she will face charges just yet.



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North Carolina, Oklahoma advance to the Men’s College World Series finals

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North Carolina, Oklahoma advance to the Men’s College World Series finals


Oklahoma is just three outs away from steamrolling through the right side of the bracket and knocking out Georgia to reach the championship finals.

To prepare, let’s take a look at what arms we should expect for the Sooners just like we did for the North Carolina earlier.

The Sooners have leaned heavily on their freshmen pitching trio in Cord Rager, Xander Mercurius and Nick Wesloski throughout Omaha. The first two went at least seven innings, while Wesloski tossed 5.2 innings on Wednesday. Even though they used relievers LJ Mercurius and Jackson Cleveland in the first two games, neither pitched more than two innings nor allowed a run. 

If LJ, who entered for Wesloski on Wednesday, finishes the game, he will have gone 3.1 innings.

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That sets up Oklahoma very well to matchup with UNC, which went 3-0 and also hasn’t used many arms up to this point. 

If OU does win, expect Rager, Xander Mercurius and Cleveland to be ready to go. Rager, who hasn’t pitched since their first round game against Alabama on Saturday, June 13, would have a full week of rest.



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Rep. Kevin Hern wins Oklahoma GOP nomination for U.S. Senate, governor’s race heads to runoff

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Rep. Kevin Hern wins Oklahoma GOP nomination for U.S. Senate, governor’s race heads to runoff


U.S. Rep. Kevin Hern easily won Oklahoma’s GOP nomination for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, and the race for a new governor in the deeply conservative state began with Republicans Gentner Drummond and Mark Mazzei advancing to a runoff.

In a primary that again tested President Donald Trump’s status as Republican Party kingmaker, both Hern and Mazzei carried his endorsement in their bids to win open races for two of Oklahoma’s biggest offices. With nearly all the votes counted, Drummond, the state’s attorney general, was narrowly ahead of Mazzei, a former state senator.

The primary had Republicans picking their preferred successor to outgoing Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt and a nominee for the Senate seat once held by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. Democrats haven’t won a Senate seat in Oklahoma since 1990.

Hern’s most serious potential GOP rivals stayed out of the Senate race after Trump endorsed him even before Mullin was confirmed as a replacement for fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Hern received more than 50% of the primary vote to avoid a runoff.

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He struck a somewhat bipartisan tone in speaking with reporters after winning big, touting his experience as a House member working on issues such as trade and energy. He promised to represent conservative principles and “Oklahoma ideologies” in the Senate and noted he already has relationships with senators.

“We have a lot of friends in a lot of different states, including blue states,” Hern said.

READ MORE: Live Results: Oklahoma midterm primaries

Trump endorsed Mazzei last month in a hotly contested race that also had other major candidates, including former Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall and Chip Keating, a former state public safety director who is the son of a two-term governor.

Drummond told reporters at his watch party that he had expected a runoff after Trump endorsed Mazzei and suggested that Trump could reconsider his endorsement of Mazzei, saying, “who knows?”

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“Mr. Mazzei got a bump, but now he’s got to earn the rest,” Drummond said.

Trump repeated his endorsement of Mazzei on his Truth Social platform on Monday. Mazzei told supporters Tuesday night, “All I can say is, ‘Wow.’

“Eighteen months ago when we started this adventure, no one thought this was possible,” he said. “The political insiders said we had no chance. We started at zero, but who in here actually had faith we could get the job done and get in the runoff? You did.”

Mazzei also boosted his campaign with personal funds — nearly $10.9 million, or almost 95% of the $11.5 million he raised, according to campaign finance reports. Drummond put $2.5 million from his own pocket in raising about $7.2 million. Together, Drummond, Mazzei, Keating and McCall contributed $22.5 million of their own funds to their campaigns, or 72% of their combined fundraising of more than $31 million.

READ MORE: Oklahoma begins choosing a new U.S. senator and governor in crowded primary

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The winner of the GOP runoff will face Oklahoma House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson, who won the Democratic nomination Tuesday by a wide margin.

In a solidly Republican state, the races for two of Oklahoma’s biggest offices set off a political scramble. To replace Mullin in the Senate through this year, Stitt appointed Republican Alan Armstrong, an energy executive, but state law prohibited him from seeking a full term.

In November, Hern will face the winner of a Democratic runoff between N’Kiyla Thomas, a nurse and community activist, and Jim Priest, an attorney and minister.

The governor’s race is open because Stitt is finishing his second four-year term and cannot serve a third under the state constitution. Trump has seemed eager for him to go.

As head of the National Governors Association, Stitt drew Trump’s ire earlier this year over a dispute over invitations to White House events at the group’s annual meeting. The fallout led to Trump attacking Stitt on social media as a “RINO,” meaning Republican in Name Only.

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