Whistleblowers file lawsuits against Oklahoma education boss, top aide

By SEAN MURPHY
Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Two separate federal lawsuits have been filed by whistleblowers against Oklahoma’s new Republican state superintendent and his top aide. The two former employees of the Oklahoma State Department of Education claim in their lawsuits that they were wrongfully terminated last week. Former OSDE program manager Matthew Colwell and Executive Director of School Based Mental Health Cheryl McGee filed the lawsuits Tuesday in federal court in Oklahoma City. Colwell claims he was fired after sharing information with a state lawmaker and the attorney general’s office. McGee says she was fired after being accused of sharing an email with the media. OSDE spokesman Justin Holcomb described the lawsuits as “absurd, frivolous and a waste of taxpayer time and money.”