Records: State paid former OSDE spokesperson more than $75k in final paycheck

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — The Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) paid its former Director of Communications, and spokesperson for State Superintendent Ryan Walters, a final paycheck of more than $75,000 after he parted ways with OSDE earlier this year, according to records uncovered by News 4.  

In February, News 4 reported OSDE Director of Communications Dan Isett was no longer employed with OSDE.

According to state payroll records from the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES), Oklahoma taxpayers paid Isett three paychecks totaling more than $76,000.00 on Feb. 28.

The largest check was for $72,218.18, classified as “terminal leave.”

Records show Isett logged a total of 176 hours worked during the pay period for which he received the massive check.

However, during previous pay periods in which Isett logged 176 hours worked, the state paid him $9,583.34.

In addition to the $72,000 “terminal leave check,” on Feb. 28 the state also paid Isett a $1,326.92 check for 24 hours of “holiday pay.”

The same day, the state also still paid Isett his regular monthly paycheck for February, a month in which Isett logged 128 hours worked.

That check, worth $2,875.00, is labeled as “regular pay” in the state’s payroll database.

News 4 has reached out to OSDE and Isett for an explanation, but so far we have not heard back.

Around that same time when Isett departed from the state agency, Governor Kevin Stitt announced he would be replacing three of the five members of the Oklahoma State Board of Education. Stitt said the reason for the board shakeup was that he believed the board had become too politicized, and focus had been drawn away from improving Oklahoma students' test scores as a result.

On Wednesday, multiple Republican and Democrat lawmakers told News 4 taxpayers, at minimum, deserve an explanation.

“It is appalling to see a payout this size, effectively creating a golden parachute for somebody who's separated from an agency for unknown reasons,” State Rep. Andy Fugate (D-Del City) told News 4.

“We are in charge of the taxpayers’ money, and $72,000 is a large number,” State Rep. Daniel Pae (R-Lawton) told News 4. “It's more than the average that Oklahoman makes.”

According to U.S. Census Bureau Data, the median single income in Oklahoma is $35,155 a year.

The median combined household income is $63,603 a year.

“More than half of all families in Oklahoma make less—in a year—than this one-time payout for the spokesperson who left State Department of Education,” Fugate said.

“I do think the taxpayers deserve an answer as far as what happened here, why the money was spent this way,” Pae said.

Last month, News 4 reported journalists at Oklahoma Watch found the state paid OSDE Chief Policy Advisor Matt Langston a more than $40,000 bonus.

As News 4 has reported, Langston receives a base salary of more than six figures, despite living and working out of Austin, Texas.

Neither that nor Isett’s major final payout was flagged in DOGE-Oklahoma’s recent report, which aimed to identify wasteful state spending.

With News 4 and Oklahoma Watch’s findings in mind, Rep. Fugate is calling for a special investigation to take a closer look at OSDE.

“I will point out that we have just impaneled a special investigative committee to take a look at what's going on in Department of Mental Health and substance abuse,” Fugate said. “We should be doing the same kind of thing with what has been happening at State Department of Education—and something my colleagues and I have been calling for. It is very clear, you know, the kind of shuffling money around, the abuses that the state auditor highlighted in federal programs that were misused, misappropriated—at least the allegations there. That's a function of oversight that the legislature ought to be taking an active interest in, and it's unfortunate that we have not. I was fortunate to serve as a member of the Swadley’s Special Investigatory committee. This is another one of those instances where we need to be taking a close look.”

Pae also agreed—telling News 4 the state needs to keep OSDE, and its finances, under a microscope.

“As the legislative branch, it is our responsibility to provide oversight and accountability to all the state agencies,” Pae said. “I know there's a conversation on looking at what specific budget requests each agency has brought forth, where the expenditures are. And so I think this can be part of that conversation. But I do think it is our prerogative to make sure taxpayer dollars are being used prudently and efficiently. And so I'm happy to have that dialogue and certainly get OSDE and whomever else we need to talk to on this issue because this is, again, the taxpayers’ dollars. And we have one constitutional obligation as a legislature, which is to pass a balanced budget. And we do make sure we get all the questions answered, uh, as much as possible to make the best possible decisions.”

Isett first began as OSDE’s Director of Communications in September 2023.

Isett’s tenure with the agency was controversial.

Last year, News 4 uncovered records showing the state paid expenses for Isett, as well as Langston and Walters, to take lavish, out-of-state trips to partisan events, talk show appearances, and conventions.

News 4 reported when Isett repeatedly barred KFOR-TV journalists from entering several Oklahoma State Board of Education (OSBE) meetings, even though the meetings are open to the public.

KFOR and The Institute for Free Speech later filed a federal lawsuit, alleging Isett, Walters, and OSDE violated the journalists’ First Amendment rights by preventing them from entering.  

KFOR ultimately prevailed when OSDE, Walters, and Isett agreed to a settlement, which required them to allow KFOR journalists into Oklahoma State Board of Education (OSBE) meetings and to pay KFOR nominal damages of $17.91.

1791 is the year the First Amendment was adopted.