Tulsa schools superintendent calls governor a 'bully' over distance-learning dispute

UPDATE:Gov. Kevin Stitt's spokesman released this written response to Tulsa Public Schools Superintendent Deborah Gist calling the governor a bully over his repeated criticisms of the district's distance-learning policy:

"The governor’s number one priority will always be to put students first. Tulsa’s students deserve better than name-calling and excuses from their superintendent; they deserve the same option to go to school in person that kids have in almost every other district in Oklahoma."

The original story is below.

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TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) –Tulsa Public Schools Superintendent Deborah Gist called Gov. Kevin Stitt a "bully" in a Facebook post Monday.

Gist's social media post came after Stitt again criticized TPS for its distance-learning policy, this time during his State of the State address Monday. Stitt has been a vocal critic of districts, such as TPS, that have kept students home during the pandemic.

“Our governor is a bully,” reads a public post on Gist’s Facebook profile.

The post reads, in part:

“A bully wants attention, and they like to get a reaction from you. They thrive from the conflict they create. So, one way to handle those who bully verbally is to not react. If they do not get the reaction they want, they may move on to another target.

With our governor, I tried that. For months, he targeted our district and our decisions with inaccurate and uninformed statements. He never once reached out to us directly. I tried, without success, to reach out to him. So, we have kept our heads high and continued making difficult decisions on behalf of students, our team, and their families. We have stayed focused on what mattered most.”

Gist announced earlier Monday that she expects TPS students to possibly return to in-person learning by the end of February.

The Facebook post from Gist goes on to say:

“Others have stepped up. Our state superintendent, our state health commissioner, and many others in Oklahoma, and Tulsa specifically, are working to support schools and to lead through this crisis.

They listen. They advise. They support. They collaborate.

Our governor only attacks. He pits families against teachers and districts against other districts and confuses an already tumultuous time for all of us. He is intentionally seeking to divide us more than this horrible situation already has.”

See the post below in its entirety.