Oklahoma
Ryan Walters announces signing bonuses for rural Oklahoma teachers, despite past controversy
![Ryan Walters announces signing bonuses for rural Oklahoma teachers, despite past controversy Ryan Walters announces signing bonuses for rural Oklahoma teachers, despite past controversy](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ca23742/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5184x2722+0+367/resize/1200x630!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F22%2Fd9%2Fd8135ed9483cad01da6cdd3a1935%2Fimg-0029.jpg)
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.
Oklahoma Voice is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence.
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Oklahoma
Oklahoma State Football Extends Lead With Long Touchdown
![Oklahoma State Football Extends Lead With Long Touchdown Oklahoma State Football Extends Lead With Long Touchdown](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3898,h_2192,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/all_pokes/01j6n1egm7g2babd5bx5.jpg)
The Oklahoma State Cowboys are searching for a large victory over South Dakota State. With a bit of fuel from Kirk Herbstreit picking the Jackrabbits, a program that has won two straight FCS National Championships, over the Cowboys.
Trying to start the 2024 season much more efficiently than the 2023 season, the Cowboys had a strong first half, holding a 17-6. They opened the second half with a second Ollie Gordon touchdown, though the Jackrabbits quickly responded.
The Jackrabbits’ first touchdown was on a three-play drive, which came a little easy and made it seem like they might be able to put some pressure on Oklahoma State.
The Cowboys’ veteran offense responded quickly, though, scoring in just six plays. This time, it was an Alan Bowman deep ball to Rashod Owens, who capped off the 58-yard touchdown.
.@luxury_owens12 first TD of the season is a 58-yard bomb from @alanbowman_ 😤 pic.twitter.com/ITjum2LMRO
— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) August 31, 2024
The game has gone just about as Oklahoma State could have hoped. Gordon begins his Heisman-hopeful campaign with a pair of touchdowns. The Cowboys have involved multiple wide receivers and the defense has shown improvement from a season ago.
Now, it’s up to Oklahoma State to keep their foot on the gas on both sides of the ball, finishing off an incredible win and getting off to a good start to their 2024 campaign.
Want to join the discussion? Like Oklahoma State Cowboys on SI on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Cowboys news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.
Oklahoma
WATCH: Sooners on SI Oklahoma-Temple Postgame Wrap
![WATCH: Sooners on SI Oklahoma-Temple Postgame Wrap WATCH: Sooners on SI Oklahoma-Temple Postgame Wrap](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/sooners_on_si_ou_temple_postgame_standup_mp4-12acd599fc3a38409849cd4442b6c919.jpg)
RANDALL SWEET
Randall is a recruiting analyst and staff writer at AllSooners focusing primarily on OU Football and the recruiting trail.
Working as a journalist, Randall has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and high school sports across the state.
A 2022 University of Oklahoma graduate, Randall hails from Lubbock, TX. While in college, Sweet wrote for the OU Daily in addition to working with Sooner Sports Pad and OU Nightly. Following his time at OU, Sweet served as the Communications Coordinator at Visit Oklahoma City before leaving to join the team at AllSooners. The West Texas native has bylines in the Norman Transcript and is a Staff Writer for Inside the Thunder.
Randall holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK.
Oklahoma
Kenyan Boarding School Celebrates 50th Class Reunion In Oklahoma
![Kenyan Boarding School Celebrates 50th Class Reunion In Oklahoma Kenyan Boarding School Celebrates 50th Class Reunion In Oklahoma](https://fueltools-prod01-public.fuelmedia.io/91fa9954-d7e6-483b-9fc0-19e5940628a5/20240830/1fb32041-9ab0-4921-8003-7df42970f46c/thumbnail.png)
Some traveled across states and others around the globe, but no matter the distance, being in Hulbert, Oklahoma, for Labor Day weekend was a must for graduates of Rift Valley Academy.
It’s been a while since the class of 1974 reminisced. Rift Valley Academy High School graduates live all around the world.
“And who would have known Oklahoma’s the center of the world,” said alumni Thad Peterson of Tanzania.
So, the class is celebrating its 50th high school reunion in Hulbert, Oklahoma.
“We’ve got people here from east Africa, from Europe, from Canada, from all over the United States, and so it’s just good to get back together and compare notes,” said alumni Mark Alison of Arkansas.
As they caught up on half a century of life, they looked back on their years spent together at their Kenyan boarding school.
“At first, it’s a little awkward because where do you start? 50 years covers a lot. But I think once we get chatting, it’s easy, it just sort of flows,” said graduate Donna Whitson of Texas.
Some classmates set up makeshift “dukas,” a Swahili word for store, to help the space feel a little more like Africa.
“Some beadwork or jewelry that they’ve made, or just some artifacts from Africa. A lot of us are downsizing, and so we brought some of those maybe for other people to take home,” Whitson said.
An opportunity for them to make their current homes feel like the ones from their teenage years.
“If you went to a big family reunion and you hadn’t seen these people in a long time, and it just really feels like that connection. We just really feel like a family; we still have that connection of home, which is Africa,” said Whitson.
With nearly all of their graduating class in attendance, they look forward to this weekend’s celebrations back together again. “I think about the common heritage that we share that is very different and unique, and we’re just privileged to be able to celebrate it together,” said Whitson.
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