Oklahoma
Ryan Walters announces signing bonuses for rural Oklahoma teachers, despite past controversy
The Oklahoma State Department of Education announced it will offer another round of signing bonuses to attract teachers to rural schools. Meanwhile, the agency is reportedly negotiating a settlement agreement with two teachers it paid previous bonuses to in error.
State Superintendent Ryan Walters said on Monday his agency will offer signing bonuses of $15,000 to $25,000 to secondary math and science teachers who agree to work in a public school in rural Oklahoma for the next school year.
A similar signing bonus program from the agency lured more than 500 certified educators back to Oklahoma schools last year, but it stirred significant controversy and attracted scrutiny from lawmakers when a few teachers were later told to return the money they had been paid.
“I am thrilled to continue bringing in highly qualified teachers to Oklahoma classrooms,” Walters said in a statement. “Oklahoma is a great place to live and work, and we are making it easier than ever for teachers to come to our great state and have an enormous impact on our young people.”
Eligible teachers cannot have taught in an Oklahoma public school in the 2023-24 school year. They must have a teaching certification for secondary math or science and be hired to teach in a rural school for the 2024-25 year.
The agency provided a list of 384 schools that fit the definition of a rural locale, according to criteria from the National Center for Education Statistics. One school on the list no longer exists, Sovereign Community School.
The Education Department called the program the “most successful teacher recruitment effort in state history.”
The agency awarded bonuses last year to a handful of teachers who didn’t meet the criteria and, months later, demanded they repay. Walters informed the state Legislature his agency also had mistakenly underpaid other recipients.
Two of the teachers who were told to repay their bonuses, Kay Bojorquez and Kristina Stadelman, sued the department and Walters in Oklahoma County District Court, alleging breach of contract and defamation.
Their attorney, Mark Hammons, said they have reached a tentative settlement with the Education Department and intend to finalize it this week.
Both teachers were approved for the program and received bonuses of $50,000 in October and November. In January, they received letters from the agency, informing them they never actually qualified and owed the full $50,000 back.
More than $20,000 of each bonus was withheld for taxes, and Bojorquez, of Osage County, and Stadelman, of Oklahoma County, had spent the rest of the money before the Education Department demanded they return it, according to their lawsuit.
Walters said the errant bonuses were the result of the teachers putting “misinformation” in their applications. That statement was defamatory, Bojorquez and Stadelman said. The teachers asked a judge to order Walters to pay them at least $75,000 each for defamation.
The Education Department and Walters have since countersued the teachers, asking for the full bonuses to be returned plus the cost of attorney fees. The agency said Bojorquez and Stadelman, by applying for and accepting the bonuses, represented that they hadn’t taught in an Oklahoma public school the previous year when, in fact, they had.
The two teachers said they truthfully reported their work history. They contend the situation was caused by the agency’s “own alleged negligence or malfeasance in giving such approval.”
“It would be financially impossible for the plaintiff to repay the signing bonus,” their lawsuit states.
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Oklahoma general manager Jim Nagy experienced great success during his first year in Norman.
Nagy, who joined OU’s staff in February 2025, oversaw the Sooners’ scouting staff as Oklahoma reached the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019. He also helped OU sign a top-15 2026 recruiting class and land several key transfer portal players after the 2025 season.
Though the wins outweighed the losses in Nagy’s first year, the Sooners’ general manager knew that there was much to fortify during the offseason.
Oklahoma’s offense sputtered late in the season, as the Sooners scored fewer than 25 points in each of their last four games.
For Nagy, a major focus was surrounding OU quarterback John Mateer with quality talent.
“(We wanted to) just really put more around John Mateer,” Nagy said on The Dari Nowkhah Show on KREF on Friday.
Nagy and his scouting team added plenty of pieces from the portal that should elevate Oklahoma’s offense.
The Sooners signed three portal wideouts — Trell Harris (Virginia), Parker Livingstone (Texas) and Mackenzie Alleyne (Washington State) — after the 2025 season to join returning receivers Isaiah Sategna, Jer’Michael Carter and Jacob Jordan.
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Sategna, who transferred to OU from Arkansas after the 2024 season, served as Mateer’s safety net in 2025. The receiver finished the year with 965 yards and eight touchdowns on 67 catches.
Harris and Livingstone are both proven producers at the Power Four level, and Nagy believes that those two will make OU’s receiving corps stronger in 2026.
“Those two, we’re very excited about both of those guys,” Nagy said.
Nagy also did plenty of work to ensure that OU’s run game improves in 2026.
The Sooners added three tight ends — Hayden Hansen (Florida), Rocky Beers (Colorado State) and Jack Van Dorselaer (Tennessee) — from the portal. They also added three transfer offensive linemen: Caleb Nitta (Western Kentucky), E’Marion Harris (Arkansas) and Peyton Joseph (Georgia Tech).
OU will have its two top running backs from the 2025 squad, Xavier Robinson and Tory Blaylock, back in 2026.
For those two to reach their full potential, the Sooners’ blockers will have to regularly open up running lanes — and Nagy is confident that they will.
“We have to run the ball better, there’s no way around that,” Nagy said. “Our job is to create more competition in every room in the offseason. I feel like we’ve done that.”
On the show, Nagy revealed that the Sooners added nearly 9,000 collegiate snaps to their roster during the offseason.
The general manager believes that both sides of the ball will be stronger as a result of his scouting team’s offseason efforts and their collaboration with OU’s coaching staff.
“I’ve tried to be really intentional with our communication,” Nagy said. “There’s a common goal: We’re trying to win a national championship. This is a true partnership, and we all have the same goal in mind. It’s going to continue to evolve and get better.”
Oklahoma will open its 2026 season against UTEP on Sept. 5.
Elgin’s Ritson Meyer becomes four-time OSSAA wrestling state champion
Elgin’s Ritson Meyer beat Coweta’s Aiven Robbins 8-7 in the Oklahoma high school wrestling Class 5A 215-pound finals on Saturday, Feb. 28, becoming a four-time state champion.
The loss was on Ritson Meyer’s mind all week as he prepared for his final state wrestling tournament.
A senior 215-pounder at Elgin, Meyer isn’t used to getting beaten, but he got a wake-up call when he lost against Coweta senior Aiven Robbins by five points in their regional championship match.
For Meyer, it set in that winning his fourth state championship wouldn’t be an easy task.
“I lost to him last week and I’m not a loser, so it was eating on me all week in practice,” Meyer said. “So (in) practice, I really leveled up everything. Everything about it.”
Meyer and Robbins met again on Saturday, this time with the Class 5A state championship on the line.
Intensely focused from the start, Meyer came out aggressive. And although it was another great match, Meyer did just enough to etch his name in the state history books.
Meyer held on to beat Robbins in an 8-7 decision in the new OG&E Coliseum as he claimed his fourth state championship, while Coweta won the team title.
An Abilene Christian football signee, Meyer’s wrestling days are over, but he leaves the sport with satisfaction.
“I came out here — even though it hurt, even though I was tired — I got it done,” Meyer said. “I’m so happy. I got to celebrate with my parents, my family, my friends. It’s a crazy feeling.”
A standout running back and linebacker on the gridiron, Meyer helped his team win the Class 4A state title in football as a junior before Elgin lost to Tuttle 23-20 in the 2025 championship game in December.
It’s a different sport, but that loss fueled Meyer’s wrestling season in a way.
“I like to tell people that wrestling is like offseason football,” Meyer said. “I can’t go out, lose. Everybody wanted me to win this. I won it for the whole entire community. First four-timer at Elgin. And that football (loss) really did eat me alive. It didn’t feel good at all, and I didn’t want that same feeling again.”
Meyer had a great start against Robbins on Saturday and never trailed, but Robbins battled to set up a great finish and both were gassed when it was over.
“I just gave it my all,” Meyer said, “and I got it done.”
This article will be updated.
Nick Sardis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Nick? He can be reached at nsardis@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at@nicksardis. Sign up forThe Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Nick’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing adigital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KOKH) — State leaders are reacting after the United States launched an attack on Iran Saturday morning.
U.S. Senator James Lankford said he is praying for the safety of the American service members involved in the attack.
“Iran remains the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism and has long threatened the United States and our allies. Today’s military actions underscore the seriousness of that threat and the need to prevent Iran from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon,” Lankford said. “I’m praying for the safety of every American service member involved in these operations and for their families at home. God bless our troops and God bless America.”
Lankford also said that any Americans in the Middle East should keep an eye out for advisories and guidance from the U.S. Department of State.
U.S. Representative Tom Cole released a statement following the attack:
It’s a time of reckoning for those who chant ‘Death to America.’ President Trump is right when he calls the effort to eradicate Iran’s nuclear weapons program and give its people the opportunity to seize their freedom ‘a noble mission.’ The evil Iranian regime has been the leading state sponsor of terror for decades. It has killed thousands of people within and beyond its borders, including hundreds of Americans. It must be defanged and dismantled.
The President did not take this action lightly or impulsively. He has warned Iran repeatedly that it must change its policies and its actions. He has negotiated with Iran in good faith and with great clarity. It was the Iranian regime that chose to ignore those warnings and make a mockery of those negotiations. In doing so, its tyrannical leaders made an enormous miscalculation.
Our Commander in Chief has made clear that his goal is not just to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. It is also to give the Iranian people a chance to take back their country. Self-determination and freedom will be theirs to claim. I hope they will.
Like every American, my thoughts and prayers are with our brave and capable men and women in uniform who are carrying out this noble but hard and dangerous mission. I know that they will have the unwavering support of every American, and I am confident that they will acquit themselves with honor and distinction.
May God protect our troops and the innocent Iranian people – and once again – as He so often has, bless America.
U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin said he is praying for the United States’ men and women in uniform in a post on Saturday.
“May God bless and protect our men and women in uniform—the greatest peacekeeping force in the history of the world. Americans are praying for your safety in this mission,” Mullin said.
U.S. Representative Kevin Hern said the Iranian regime is a threat to the U.S. and President Trump was left with no other choice than to take action.
As the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism, the Iranian regime is an active threat to the United States, our allies, and stability across the Middle East.”
Iran’s refusal to accept a deal left President Trump with no choice other than to take decisive action to ensure the regime never possesses a nuclear weapon. There is no peace without strength, and the United States will not sit by while this regime pursues their nuclear ambitions, fuels their terrorist proxies, and brutalizes the Iranian people. I’m praying for our brave troops in the region. May God bless them, and may God bless the United States.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said in a social media post that his prayers are with President Trump and Secretary Pete Hegseth as they work to achieve a safer world.
“God bless and protect the men and women of the United States military engaged in the Middle East this weekend. My prayers are with our military, President Trump, Secretary Hegseth, and our Generals, as they use American force to achieve a safer world for the future of our children and grandchildren,” Drummond said.
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