Oklahoma City Public Schools acknowledged Tuesday that acting superintendent Aurora Lora has been working for nearly two years without the required certification.
Tim Willert reports in The Oklahoman that a district spokeswoman confirmed that Lora had been serving without a certificate as either an associate superintendent or acting superintendent since 2014 and recently completed the exam that would allow her to receive her superintendent certification.
Lora has run the school district since the school board removed Rob Neu of his duties in April.
Oklahoma City Public Schools spokeswoman Tiernney Tinnin wrote that “not ensuring she completed the required certification when she was hired was a complete oversight on the district’s part.”
Lora, who has expressed a desire to lead the district on a permanent basis, is awaiting the results of the Oklahoma superintendent's certification exam. Board members have said they support Lora. "I think everybody's got full confidence in her," board member Bob Hammack said June 3. "I think she's done an excellent job, and she was one of our top choices the last time we interviewed for a superintendent. She's qualified." At the June 6 board meeting, the panel unanimously approved an application asking the state Education Department to waive the certification requirements as a precaution.
Tinnin wrote the district is working with the Oklahoma State Department of Education to discover why Oklahoma Public Schools received its annual accreditation for two year despite Lora’s lack of certification.
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