More than $22,000 of state money went to fund the creation of an anti-teacher union video from Oklahoma’s State Department of Education.
According to documents StateImpact obtained from an open records request, $22,500 was paid to Texas-based Precision Outreach LLC to make a video that was highly critical of the Oklahoma Education Association, though the footage it featured had little to do with the organization.
The video was unveiled at a May State Board of Education meeting and was part of what State Superintendent Ryan Walters calls a “public awareness campaign” about teachers’ unions.
"Parents will be in charge of our education system, not these woke teachers’ unions," he said in the video that YouTube advises "may be inappropriate for some users."
It features speakers from the National Education Association’s 2022 conference, footage from Walters’ interview with Fox News, and an interview with the author of a young adult LGBTQ+ book. It also included a video from Texas and another from Pennsylvania defending pedophiles — it’s unclear what the connection is to Oklahoma teacher unions.
The state money was used for video production, onsite shooting, use of equipment, and post-production editing.
Walters has drawn criticism and multiple lawsuits in his brief tenure in office for rhetoric around education.
