OSDE staffer’s ‘childish behavior’ angers lawmaker amid tensions between Oklahoma State Legislature and Department of Education.

Republican House Representative Mark McBride says the legislature has had trouble communicating with OSDE on spending and other issues. But McBride says the latest message he got was too much.

“You know it’s been going on for a long time,” McBride said.

McBride is the chair of the education appropriation and budget committee.

“My job is to make sure that money goes to education and goes to education in the right ways,” McBride said.

He says OSDE and State Superintendent Ryan Walters have not been communicating well.

“It’s hard for anyone, whether it’s a superintendent or the legislature, to get any information from the Department of Ed,” he said.

But after months of asking for information about teacher signing bonuses, OSDE spending, and emails from Walters with no answer, McBride had enough.

“Wednesday, I sent and I said you know we need answers to these questions,” McBride said. “And that’s when someone from the department of ed put this rude little letter under my door.”

The letter said ‘Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me,’ and it was from OSDE Senior Policy Advisor Matt Langston.

“I thought it was very unprofessional,” McBride said.

We tried to talk to Matt Langston but did not hear back.

Langston did make a statement on Friday, calling McBride a ‘whiney Democrat’ and saying ‘…McBride keeps crying for attention while pushing bad policies, supporting woke indoctrination, and promoting porn in schools…’

“That’s really childish. I’m not a Democrat,” McBride said.

He says there’s more at stake.

“It needs to be about the kids,” McBride said.

He says OSDE and the legislature need to be transparent and communicate.

“They need to do the work that the people elected them to do,” McBride said.”