State school board hires new legal counsel, allows lawmaker in executive session for first time in months

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — At an emergency-called meeting Friday afternoon, Oklahoma State School Board members voted to hire a new lawyer to serve as their legal counsel, and also allowed a legislator to sit in on their executive session discussion for the first time since barring them from entering earlier this year.

The Oklahoma State Board of Education (OSBE) had just two items on its agenda for Friday’s emergency meeting.

One of them was an executive session for the board to discuss the ongoing lawsuit it is facing over its Bible-teaching mandate.

The other item included a vote the board took to hire a new outside law firm to serve as the board’s legal counsel, after Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s Office chose not to renew the board’s contract with its former legal counsel, after she advised them not to allow legislators to sit in on executive session discussions.

"The largest budgetary item in the state of Oklahoma is the State Department of Ed," said State Senator Mary Boren (D-Norman).

That fact was why, several months ago, Boren wanted to exercise her right as an Oklahoma legislator to sit in on the Oklahoma State Board of Education's executive session discussions at its monthly meetings.

But the board's now-former legal counsel, attorney Cara Nicklas, disagreed that the law allowed Boren and other legislators inside, stopping Boren and several of her fellow legislators from entering.

In response, Boren asked Drummond to issue a formal legal opinion.

"The reason why we needed the attorney general to answer and to keep showing up is because I wanted all state legislators to be able to have access to that discussion and to provide that kind of oversight,” Boren said.

Drummond issued his opinion earlier this year.

He sided with Boren and ordered the board to allow her and other legislators into their executive sessions.

However, Nicklas continued to question Drummond’s legal opinion.

Drummond’s office later chose not to renew the board's contract with Nicklas to provide her legal services.

Drummond appointed a member of his legal staff to give the board legal advice until they found someone new.

At Friday’s meeting, the board voted to hire attorney Joel Wohlgemuth, of Tulsa based law firm Norman Wohlgemuth, to serve as the board’s new legal counsel.

Norman-Wohlgemuth happens to be representing State Superintendent Ryan Walters in his personal capacity in a defamation suit that Bixby Public Schools Superintendent Rob Miller filed against Walters following comments he made about Miller after a board meeting earlier this year.

Ultimately, Drummond’s office will have to approve the hire.

Boren, who is a lawyer herself, says it’s a bit of a legal gray area as to whether or not it would be conflict of interest for the board to hire Walters’ personal attorney to provide them legal advice.

"Hopefully the attorney general is considering that when they approve that application for them to the new lawyer to represent the board of Education,” Boren said. "If the board is not particularly concerned about that and the Attorney General isn't, then it may be that the contract that gets awarded to serve in that capacity. The list is pretty narrow in Oklahoma of lawyers that are willing to try to challenge our state constitution and to try to get a very important clause in our constitution overturned by the United States Supreme Court, so I wouldn't be surprised if they have to do double duty."

Following the board’s vote to hire Wohlgemuth, members voted to enter an executive session to discuss the ongoing lawsuit the board is facing over its mandate for public schools to teach from the Bible.

State Rep. Dick Lowe (R-Amber) showed up to Friday’s meeting, hoping to sit in on the discussion.

"I have 40,000 people at home that I represent,” Lowe said. “They feel like I should be here, should be here to see that things are done… I think we always need to have just representation here. I think it's not to play ‘gotcha,’ not to try to figure out something or what you do wrong. It’s just, be here because we represent the people out there.”

The board allowed Lowe inside without incident Friday.

"There wasn't any pushback,” Lowe said. "The law was followed today. And I think it's good for the state education as well as the legislature, for all Oklahomans."

As for Boren, she hopes that’s a sign of things to come.

"It's always good when the law is followed,” Boren said. “I'm very encouraged that hopefully this is a new trend and maybe the page did get turned on one or two things after the election. And I do hope that the law will continue to be followed for Democrats like they were for a Republican today."