Fired Oklahoma board secretary seeks $100,000 from Education Department

Former Oklahoma State Board of Education secretary Amy London, back center, sits at the board’s table during a meeting April 24 in Oklahoma City. London is seeking $100,000 from the Oklahoma State Department of Education, alleging wrongful termination. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice)

OKLAHOMA CITY — The former secretary of Oklahoma’s top school board has demanded $100,000 from the state Department of Education, contending the agency wrongfully fired her after she complained department staff interfered with her job duties.

Amy London took the first step toward filing a lawsuit over her July 17 firing by submitting a tort claim to the agency last week with the $100,000 demand, which also alleges she suffered workplace discrimination. She contends state law gives only the Oklahoma State Board of Education, not the department, authority over hiring and firing the board secretary.

Amid ongoing tensions between state Superintendent Ryan Walters and the board, London’s claim states Walters’ chief of staff, Matt Mohler, instructed her not to communicate with board members until 24 hours before their monthly board meetings. Mohler’s directive had her withhold draft agendas and supporting documents until that deadline, leaving the board with limited time to review hundreds of pages of information needed to cast votes, London said.

“When you’ve got other personnel interfering with the board business, it prohibits a well-functioning state board office,” London told Oklahoma Voice.

The Education Department did not return a request to interview Mohler and Walters, nor did it comment on London’s claim. Instead, the agency submitted a brief statement through its spokesperson, Madison Cercy.

“We have extremely high expectations and high standards for every employee at SDE,” Cercy stated. “We have a core mission to empower parents and return education decisions back to core conservative values of our state. We expect all personnel to abide by this and sometimes things don’t work out.”

London alleged Mohler and one of his assistants hindered her, attempted to override her work, and created a “disruptive and hostile work environment,” according to a complaint she filed June 30 with the Education Department’s human resources office, which she shared with Oklahoma Voice. 

Her complaint describes Mohler as becoming more involved and commanding after London made a mistake in the board’s February meeting minutes.

The agency’s head of HR responded to the complaint in a July 10 letter, which Oklahoma Voice obtained, that stated Mohler had apologized to London and that he “intended to offer help and assistance, not to overstep boundaries or cause any upset.”

The HR response also declined London’s request to change the chain of command that had the board secretary report to the agency’s general counsel. London said this was a “conflict of interest” because state law describes the secretary as an employee of the state Board of Education, not the Education Department. 

Feeling the HR process had resulted in little change, London, 61, then took her complaints to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, where she reported allegations of age- and sex-based discrimination.

The Education Department fired her six days later, she said.

“They shouldn’t have dismissed me, but the bottom line is they think they can do what they want to do,” London said. “I should still have my job.”

State statute is clear that the board is in charge of its secretary’s employment, said Mike Tinney, an attorney and a state Board of Education member.

Oklahoma law directs the state board to “appoint, prescribe the duties, and fix the compensation of a secretary.” The statute also permits the board to hire an attorney and “all other personnel necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the State Board of Education.”

“Based on that statute, yes, we have the right to hire and fire (the secretary),” Tinney said.

The board voted to hire London in December to succeed longtime board secretary Terrie Cheadle, who retired that month. Before that, London worked as Walters’ office manager at the Education Department.

Board members discovered London was no longer employed as their secretary when they arrived for their monthly meeting on July 24, a week after she was fired. They complained Walters might have exceeded his authority by removing her.

One member, Chris Van Denhende, called for a special board meeting to discuss London’s dismissal and Walters’ powers as the board’s chair.

“I think we need to discuss the appropriate roles of the board compared to the president of the board,” Van Denhende said during the July 24 meeting.

Van Denhende did not comment for this story. Fellow board members Becky Carson and Ryan Deatherage did not return requests for comment.

In the past, the entire board voted in unison with Walters, and its members received agenda information up to 14 days in advance of each meeting, London said.

But, the relationship between Walters and the board changed dramatically in February when Gov. Kevin Stitt replaced three of his board appointees while complaining they and the state superintendent were the source of “needless political drama.”

Stitt’s newly appointed board members — Tinney, Van Denhende, Carson and Deatherage — have been willing to challenge and publicly disagree with Walters, unlike their predecessors. 

Internally, Walters’ administration viewed the new board members like “the enemy,” London said. After they were appointed, London received the directive not to communicate with the board until 24 hours before each monthly meeting, she said.

Being caught in the middle of the conflict was uncomfortable, London said, but she believed she could bridge the gap between both sides.

“Do I agree with some of the things the superintendent does, his conservative values and beliefs? Yes, I do,” she said. “But at the same time, he was elected; I was appointed. We have a job to do for the people of Oklahoma, for the next generation of Oklahomans.”

Meanwhile, the newly appointed board members have pleaded with Walters to provide board meeting information further in advance — most notably after they had less than 24 hours to read hundreds of pages describing new academic standards for social studies. 

One board member, Ryan Deatherage, even voted against the new standards in the board’s February meeting, saying he hadn’t had enough time to properly read them. 

Board members would later learn the social studies standards included significant last-minute changes from the original draft, including the addition of language casting doubt on the integrity of the 2020 presidential election. Half of the board said they weren’t aware of the added content and made unsuccessful calls for another chance to vote on the standards. 

The Oklahoma Supreme Court has since blocked the new standards from being taught in schools while a lawsuit is pending over their constitutionality.

Tinney said he and other board members have been wondering why Walters’ administration couldn’t provide information on coming agenda items sooner. He said he was unaware London had been directed to limit the board’s preparation time to 24 hours before each meeting.

“I’m not surprised because that’s when we got it,” Tinney said. “If you attended the meetings, we were always pushing to get it earlier, so we’d have time to review it.”

The state board voted Sept. 3 to start the process of accepting applications for its next board secretary.

London said she has been unemployed since the Education Department fired her. The $100,000 demand would cover both lost wages and damages suffered as a result of the wrongful termination, her claim contends.

She said she would consider accepting her job back if the board secretary’s office moved out of the Education Department building. Working for the agency’s chief of staff was “toxic,” she said, and Walters never responded when she sent him a message with her complaints.

London said she felt betrayed after having grown close with Walters and his family.

“I made birthday cakes for Ryan Walters’ children. I’ve been to his house to celebrate. His wife invited me over for Christmas. I mean, I would visit with his mom,” London said. “Ryan is in between my two sons in age. His wife celebrated my birthday with me in ’24. So it was like, OK, the fact that he could not even respond or have a one-on-one conversation, I think it speaks volumes.”

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