By Nuria Martinez-Keel, Oklahoma Voice
TULSA — While announcing wholesale changes at the Oklahoma State Department of Education, Gov. Kevin Stitt appointed a retired CareerTech administrator to lead the agency along with a “turnaround team” of officials from across the state.
Lindel Fields is Stitt’s choice to lead that turnaround as state superintendent, replacing Ryan Walters who resigned from the position on Tuesday. Fields, of Tulsa, said he will step into the role with the aim of “steadying the ship” at the Education Department, which had a tumultuous 33 months with Walters in charge.
“We’ll lead with honesty and respect,” Fields said at a news conference at Eisenhower International School in Tulsa on Thursday. “I believe in the principle ‘Do what you say. Say what you mean. Don’t say it mean.’ That’s how we’ll operate as a state agency, and that’s how we’ll treat one another.”
His remarks signal a shift away from the culture-war politics and combative tone that Walters prioritized while leading the agency. Walters ultimately left office to lead an anti-teacher-union nonprofit, prompting the governor to appoint a candidate to finish the final 15 months of his vacated term.
Fields said he isn’t interested in running in 2026 to keep the office for another four years. He said he is “laser-focused on what needs to be done at the state agency,” listing student reading proficiency, teacher recruitment and retention, and expanding students’ future career options as his priorities.
Stitt said that’s exactly the response he hoped for.
“That was a question I asked in the interview process because I wanted somebody not focused on the next election,” Stitt said. “Let’s focus on the kids.”
During the news conference, Stitt complained “there has always been misalignment between the governor and the superintendent” because they’re separately elected positions. He said the office of state superintendent should be permanently changed into a gubernatorial appointment.
The governor urged the Oklahoma Legislature to put a question on statewide voting ballots to make that change.
House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, and Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, said they support the idea. Both were in attendance at the Tulsa event.
Paxton said he has legislation pending that would make a similar change to the state insurance commissioner and labor commissioner.
“Adding the superintendent to that, to me, makes sense,” Paxton said. “I think we elect probably too many people for the voters to keep track of.”
While fighting back tears during his address, Fields said accepting the governor’s appointment is “deeply personal.”
He then mentioned his daughter, a fifth grader at Eisenhower, who was among the students in attendance at the event in the school library.
“As a father, I share the same hopes and worries as every parent,” he said. “We all want our kids to be safe, to be known and to be prepared for the future. That’s why steadying the ship matters so much right now.”
Fields’ started working in education in 1991 as an educator at Dick Conner Correctional Center. He spent the bulk of his career at CareerTech centers, which focus on vocational training. He led Tri County Technology Center in Bartlesville from 2009 until his retirement in 2021.
Stitt said he’s been calling education professionals and state officials for the past few weeks, asking them to join Fields at the Education Department.
The governor’s own chief of staff, Tom Newell, and his education secretary, Nellie Tayloe Sanders, will be part of the team. Fields’ new administration also will include Tulsa Public Schools Chief Financial Officer Kristen Stephens, Broken Arrow Public Schools Chief Communications Officer Tara Thompson and Romel Muex-Pullen, an associate superintendent of Metro Technology Centers in Oklahoma City.
Office of Educational Quality and Accountability executive director Megan Oftedal also will join Fields at the Education Department. She will be replaced at OEQA by Okemah Chamber of Commerce President Connie Reilly, a former educator who sits on the Regional University System of Oklahoma Board of Regents.
Stitt said he will appoint University of Oklahoma professor Dan Hamlin as his new education secretary to replace Sanders. Former Stitt administration official Donelle Harder will become his chief of staff in Newell’s place.
Stitt’s changes also extend to the Oklahoma State Board of Education. He will replace board members Sarah Lepak and Zach Archer with Brian Bobek, a former member of the board, and Wes Nofire, the governor’s former Native American liaison. Fields will lead the board as state superintendent.
“Zach and Sarah have been tireless advocates for the students of Oklahoma,” Stitt said in a news release issued after the Tulsa event. “They remained professional and courteous as they navigated a tense political environment. I thank them for their service to the state and wish them the best as they return to private life.”
Bringing in a new team to lead the Education Department means there likely will be turnover among agency staff, Stitt said, but neither he nor Fields got into details of who might be affected. They also didn’t specify which roles members of the “turnaround team” would fulfill.
Stitt said the team plans to “get politics out of that agency” and focus on directing state funds toward improving education.
“We’ve had no transparency,” Stitt said. “We don’t know exactly what’s happening inside the agency. That’s why we have a team. We’ve got all these smart people around us that are going to go in there and look at everything, look at every contract, look at every vendor, look and see what’s happening.”
Among the first matters Fields will face is a state audit that Attorney General Gentner Drummond ordered.
Drummond requested the Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector’s Office investigate the Education Department’s finances over the entirety of Walters’ tenure in charge, beginning Jan. 9, 2023, through Tuesday.
Drummond contended Walters had a “well-established history of mishandling tax dollars.”
State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd confirmed through a spokesperson that she received the audit request.
Certain state officials, including the attorney general and the governor, have the authority to request an investigative audit, which checks for compliance with state and federal law as well as adherence with proper financial procedures.
Stitt in 2021 similarly requested an investigative audit of the Education Department while Hofmeister was still in office. Four years later, Byrd still hasn’t released the completed audit.
