By Sara Higdon – The Post Millennial
Earlier this week, Shane Murnan resigned from his position as the principal of John Glenn Elementary School to the Western Heights School district in Oklahoma after it was revealed he performs as a drag queen and had been charged with possessing child pornography in the past.
In a post on X, Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters announced Murnan’s resignation. He said, “It’s a great day for Oklahoma. It’s a great day for Oklahoma Schools. Big win today, the Drag queen is out at Western Heights.”
“I have demanded it from day 1,” Walters continued. “This individual shouldn’t be in a school. You should not be working with young kids. I have heard it from parents all over the state, all over this country, this is not what parents want for their kids.”
He went on to give Libs of TikTok credit for breaking the story in August which revealed Murnans, who uses the stage name of Shantel Mandalay, prior charges of possessing pornographic images of children under 18 on his computer.
In a statement to Crisis in the Classroom (CITC), Walters said, “I demanded the school take action and fire a drag queen who not only engaged in the most inappropriate and sexually charged events imaginable, but he also used social media to recruit students.” He added, “Our students will be protected from predatory behavior, and I have been crystal clear that I will not allow Oklahoma schools to become a training ground in drag queen propaganda.”
Court records show that Murnan’s child pornography charges were dismissed by a judge in February 2003. In the wake of Libs of TikTok exposing this information, the Western Heights District superintendent, Brayden Savage sent a letter to parents admitting they hired Murnan knowing of his previous charges.
“This evening, the Board of Education approved the hiring of Dr. Shane Murnan for the Head Principal position at John Glenn Elementary,” the letter quoted a statement announcing his hiring in June. “Recently, the district has been made aware of previous charges that were dismissed more than 20 years ago. Dr. Murnan has been serving the field of education for more than 25 years and has an outstanding reputation. He comes highly recommended by previous supervisors, colleagues, and educators.”
However, parents were not happy with the school’s decision. Christina Madden told Fox 25, that she planned to remove her kids from the school if he remained principal.
“I feel like, there, there was something there. You know, for that to even be brought up, whether it was 20 years ago, it’s there,” she said. “I feel like they should have reached out to the parents, yes, and they still haven’t. Nobody has, you know, sent parents personal emails letting us know about this. So we’ve had to find out on social media.”