State Superintendent Ryan Walters on Monday mandated that every Oklahoma school district must fully fund student meals using existing state and federal operational dollars, effective with the 2025/26 school year.

“For too long, Oklahoma’s students and taxpayers have been fleeced by gross mismanagement and bloated bureaucracies that prioritize administrative paychecks over kids’ basic needs. This stops now,” Walters said in a news release.

Dr. Bob Gragg, Superintendent of Seminole Public Schools, said the local district is already providing no cost student meals, and Walters’ mandate may be political grandstanding.

“Public schools are faced with challenges in today’s educational climates that often seem so very unexpected and perhaps unwarranted. The challenges are often far away from what we have long thought of as the basics of education. Political agendas seem to be the norm in everyday circles as well as in the daily news including social media. It’s hard to tell if Henny-Penny is flying low and the sky is really falling, or if it is a battle of words among those vying for power in various political arenas,” Gragg said.

“Our cafeteria employees are some of the most dedicated and caring cooks and servers you could find anywhere. They have a heart for serving our students with the best meals we can provide with the limited funding we receive. In addition to providing all students with the opportunity for free breakfasts and lunches, we have also started a third meal for our students before they leave our schools each day. In addition, we have a partnership with the Oklahoma Food Bank to provide the weekend and summertime backpack food program for students. Our summer backpack program has been recently recognized as the largest and most successful in the region which covers parts of several states outside of Oklahoma.”

According to Walters, Oklahoma families were slapped with a “staggering” $42 million bill last year for school meals—on top of their taxes—while administrators pocketed a 14% salary hike.

“This isn’t just incompetence; it’s a betrayal of our kids and communities. Oklahoma taxpayers are being triple-taxed to cover lunches while bureaucrats fatten their wallets,” said State Superintendent Ryan Walters. “We need less administrators in our schools. We need to get taxpayers dollars to the students, not to grow bureaucracy,” Walters said. “Big government and administrative overreach have failed Oklahoma’s students time and again, just as the left’s playbook always does. These new guidelines will force districts to cut the fat, redirect funds to where they belong—our kids—and ensure no family is left footing the bill for mismanaged meals.” In Monday’s press release, Walters seemingly threatened administrators who do not comply with the mandate with termination.

“This isn’t negotiable.” Walters said. “Bureaucrats who can’t prioritize students over their own perks will be shown the door.”

According to a memo released Monday by Shawn Hime, Executive Director of the Oklahoma State School Boards Association (OSSBA), school budgets are a matter of local control.

“Local school boards maintain primary authority over district budgets, enabling them to make decisions based on local priorities and needs,” Hime wrote. “While some districts choose to use discretionary funds to offset meal costs for students not qualifying for free meals, this is strictly a local decision.”