Kansas lawmakers call for resignation of education commissioner after ‘controversial’ comments

Lawmakers in Kansas are increasingly calling for the resignation of the state’s education leader, Commissioner Randy Watson, after he made offensive comments about Native Americans during a Zoom conference last week regarding virtual learning.

The Kansas Department of Education released a 51-minute video of Watson’s presentation during the conference, during which Watson compared handling the coronavirus to handling a hurricane or tornado. He referred to his cousins from California, who used to visit Kansas when he was a child, and were “petrified” of tornadoes.

“They’re like, ‘Are we going to get killed by a tornado?’” Watson said. “And I’d say, ‘Don’t worry about that, but you got to worry about the Indians raiding the town at any time.’”

The comment has sparked backlash in the state government. Kansas Governor Laura Kelly was joined by four Native American lawmakers this week in calling on the Board of Education to fire Watson over his controversial statement.

“Commissioner Watson is responsible for guiding our future generation forward, but that cannot happen when he’s ignorant to the diverse history of our youth,” said Prairie Band Potawatomi Chair Joseph “Zeke” Rupnick.

The Board of Education held a partially closed-door meeting on Friday to discuss Watson’s future. During the meeting, the Board Chair announced Watson had handed in his resignation, which the Board then rejected and instead suspended him for 30 days without pay as punishment for his comments.