(The Center Square) - Ryan Walters' dual roles as state school superintendent and education secretary ended Tuesday.
Gov. Kevin Stitt named Dr. Katherine Curry as secretary of education hours after he announced an overall of his cabinet.
Walters was appointed to Stitt's cabinet in 2020. He won the post of state school superintendent in 2022.
"The governor and I are passionate about improving K-12 for all students, improving higher education, and supporting our great teachers to make Oklahoma a top ten state for education," Walters said in a news release from Stitt's office. "We are all committed to transparency and accountability to ensure all education institutions are in line with Oklahoma values."
Curry is a professor at OSU-Tulsa.
"Katherine brings a wealth of experience to oversee the many different areas of education across the state, including higher education and career tech," Stitt said in a news release. "I look forward to her leadership and service as we work towards making Oklahoma a top ten state in education."
The governor also shook up his cabinet Tuesday.
State statutes allow the governor to have 15 cabinet positions. Stitt created the Secretary of Operations and Government Efficiency and the Secretary of Workforce Development.
The governor removed the Science and Innovation cabinet position.
Stitt said in a press release the workforce development secretary would focus on labor issues.
"This distinct effort, in addition to working with the Secretary of Commerce, will be critical in our vision to make Oklahoma the most business-friendly state in the nation," Stitt said.
The new secretary will be announced after the governor's Workforce Transformation Task Force completes its work. The task force, appointed by Stitt in January, must submit a report to the governor by April 15, according to Stitt's executive order.
Stitt named former state chief operations officer John Suter as the operations and government efficiency secretary.
"Within just weeks of my executive order on reducing the state vehicle fleet, we have saved taxpayers an estimated $2.8 million annually," Stitt said. "I know there are more ways to save taxpayer money throughout state government and I look forward to taking additional action with this new cabinet position."
Cabinet members are subject to the approval of the Oklahoma Senate.
via Oklahoma's Center Square News