Gov. Kevin Stitt on Thursday called for a state audit of Oklahoma’s largest school district.
Tulsa Public Schools is suspected of “potential mishandling of public funds” and of violating House Bill 1775, the governor alleged in a video posted to social media.
“We will get to the bottom of what’s going on in Tulsa Public Schools,” Stitt said.
Tulsa Superintendent Deborah Gist said the school district is conducting internal reviews and cooperating with police to investigate an allegation that a company made payments to district employees. Gist said Tulsa is ending its relationship with the company, Snickelbox, which had assisted the district's Talent Management Department with staff recruitment and hiring.
The district's chief talent and equity officer, Devin Fletcher, has resigned.
"We welcome anyone who would like to come and take a look at the work that we do," Gist said after a Tulsa school board meeting Thursday. "I have complete confidence in our management of funds, and when something goes wrong, we’re going to act swiftly and decisively and repair the situation as we have done in this instance."
Two members of the Tulsa Board of Education, E’Lena Ashley and Jennettie Marshall, asked for an audit of the school district in a July 1 letter to the governor.
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Ashley and Marshall sent the letter after the district discovered $20,000 in contract management irregularities within its Talent Management Department. They said the Tulsa school board was unaware of the investigation until June 30 and believed most of the board was “in the dark.”
The board met Thursday to discuss with its attorney the investigation and Fletcher's resignation.
Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd confirmed her office received Stitt’s request for an audit of the Tulsa district.
The governor asked for a special audit, whichchecks whether an entity complied with state law and internal control procedures.
Gist indicated the governor's call for a state audit is political, and Oklahoma taxpayers will bear the cost.
While speaking with reporters, Gist pointed to the state's $18 million no-bid contract with the company ClassWallet to distribute federal education relief funds directly to families. With few safeguards in place to regulate spending, $500,000 was spent on non-educational items, such as TVs and gaming consoles, an investigation by The Frontier and Oklahoma Watch found.
Gist said Oklahomans should "consider the source" of the request to audit Tulsa.
"This is a governor, Kevin Stitt, and his colleague, (Education Secretary) Ryan Walters, who wrote an $18 million check for an out-of-state entity with no bidding process, and already a review of that has identified at least half a million dollars in inappropriate, questionable funds," Gist said. "So, I think it’s important to keep the context in place."
The Tulsa district has been a frequent target of the governor’s criticism throughout the coronaviruspandemic. He reiterated his previous complaints on Thursday, noting Tulsa schools closed for 300 consecutive days because of COVID-19.
He said the district received more than $200 million in federal pandemic relief funds.
"Board members, parents, students and teachers deserve to know how that money was spent," Stitt said.
Gist said there's no connection the district is aware of between its federal funds and the investigation into the Snickelbox contract.
The governorincorrectlystated in his video Thursday that Tulsa remained closed the longest of any school district during COVID-19. Western Heights Public Schools in Oklahoma Citywas the last district in the state to reopen forface-to-face learning.All others had returned to in-person classes at least once a week.
Stitt also falselydescribed HB 1775 as a ban on critical race theory from public schools. The 2021 bill doesn’t contain the words “critical race theory,” though many interpret the bill as a prohibition of it.Critical race theory is an academic concept typically taught at the college level that examines racism as something embedded within the structures of American society, like the criminal justice system orschools.
HB 1775 outlaws educators from teaching one race is superior to another, that a person is inherently racist or oppressive, and that people should feel discomfort or guilt because of their race or sex, among other provisions.
The Tulsa district is the first to be found in violation of HB 1775.
The Oklahoma State Department of Education determineda20-minute training course for districtstaff contradicted the law. The school district cooperated with the agency’s investigation and pledged to correct the issue, said Brad Clark, general counsel for the state Education Department.
The Oklahoma State Board of Education is expected to vote this month to demote Tulsa’s accreditation status to “accredited with deficiency” because of the finding. Accredited with deficiency is defined as a school failingto meet standards but not in a way that seriously detracts from its educational program.
During the state board’s June 23 meeting, Clark said it was a “close call” whether the training amounted to a violation.
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to include remarks from Tulsa Superintendent Deborah Gist.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Gov. Kevin Stitt asks for audit of Tulsa Public Schools
