Monday, October 7th 2024, 5:31 pm
A state lawmaker is raising questions over a request for 55,000 Bibles in public schools. Now, an opinion from the Attorney General has been requested.
State superintendent Ryan Walters wants to redirect $3 million of the State Department of Education’s budget to Bibles and requested an additional $3 million from state lawmakers. Both of which are now in question.
"The request will be made and then it'll move through the legislative process. And my hope is that the legislature will stand strong against this request and remember that is unconstitutional to use taxpayer dollars for religious purposes,” said Rep. Munson.
Republican State Representative Mark McBride sent this letter to Attorney General Gentner Drummond, asking him to answer four questions:
Rep. McBride adds at the bottom of the letter, “Lastly, I have no problem with Bibles in classrooms and libraries.”
House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson raised similar concerns last week.
“The state superintendent continues to again focus on culture war issues that we know are not actually benefiting our children. They're not benefiting our teachers,” said Rep. Munson, (D) OKC.
Representative Mark McBride requests an attorney general’s opinion looking OSDE’s request to spend $6 million towards supplying bibles for Oklahoma classrooms.
"I believe it's essential we ensure every school has the bible. It’s the most cited, it's the most read book in American history,” said State Superintendent Ryan Walters during the September state board of education meeting.
The Attorney General sent a letter back to Representative McBride acknowledging he received the request but did not provide a statement from us Monday evening.
The request and executive order can be read below:
Haley Weger joined the News 9 team as a multi-media journalist in August 2022. She came to OKC from Lake Charles, Louisiana. Haley began her career as a producer and multi-media reporter and then transitioned to a morning anchor position. While she was in Louisiana, Haley covered an array of news topics, and covered multiple hurricanes on the coast.
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