While announcing wholesale changes at the Oklahoma State Department of Education, Gov. Kevin Stitt appointed a retired CareerTech administrator to lead the agency along with a “turnaround team” of officials from across the state.

Lindel Fields is Stitt’s choice to lead that turnaround as state superintendent, replacing Ryan Walters who resigned from the position on Tuesday. Fields, of Tulsa, said he will step into the role with the aim of “steadying the ship” at the Education Department, which had a tumultuous 33 months with Walters in charge.

“We’ll lead with honesty and respect,” Fields said at a news conference at Eisenhower International School in Tulsa on Thursday. “I believe in the principle ‘Do what you say. Say what you mean. Don’t say it mean.’ That’s how we’ll operate as a state agency, and that’s how we’ll treat one another.”

Read the full story at Oklahoma Voice.