State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd released her findings TUESDAY) from an audit of billions of federal dollars Oklahoma spent on pandemic relief programs.
Byrd says Oklahoma "dropped the ball" on compliance and oversight, and taxpayers are at risk of having to return about 30-million dollars in questionable expenses. When it comes to CARES Act spending, the audit found the state did not obtain sufficient documentation that all payments went to COVID-related purposes.
There were also problems with the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund, or GEER, programs — including Bridge The Gap, which was overseen by now-State Superintendent Ryan Walters. That program was meant to help low-income families buy educational supplies necessary for remote learning. The audit found $1.7 million went to things like furniture, kitchen appliances, power tools and entertainment.
Attorney General Dentner Drummond calls the findings extremely troubling, and says he won’t tolerate what amounts to a pervasive culture of waste, mismanagement and apparent fraud.
Following a recent Supreme Court decision on charter schools, the Oklahoma Attorney General says the resolution could impact Oklahoma’s current education battles.
Supreme Court Justices on Monday refused to hear a lawsuit challenging a dress code at a North Carolina Charter School, upholding the lower court ruling that affirmed the dress code was a violation of U.S. Constitution.
The decision has the potential to cement the legal argument that charter schools are not private entities and therefore subject to the same laws as public institutions.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond tweeted the Supreme Court’s decision to not take up the case was “promising” regarding Oklahoma’s current legal battles over a state-funded Catholic charter school, which he opposes. But he reaffirmed that while it was a favorable development to maintain secular public schools, he expects much litigation in the following months.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has issued an opinion, saying school faculty and staff should be allowed to use portions of their paycheck to pay dues for professional groups - like teacher’s unions.
The attorney general’s opinion comes after State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Ryan Walters, made headlines for calling the OEA a “terrorist organization.” Walters had explored taking steps to prevent school districts from letting teachers directly pay the organization from their paychecks.
Rep. Mark McBride and Ryan Walters had both requested the opinion. Drummond says school districts cannot prevent staff from diverting their dues to teacher organizations from their paychecks.
The attorney general says the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, which is historically responsible for setting pay deductions for state employees, has already interpreted Oklahoma law to not apply to school districts and their employees’ voluntary deductions.
The opinion also says teacher organizations’ collective bargaining process is in accordance with federal law.
Oklahoma City travelers may want to anticipate longer wait times at Will Rogers World Airport. The Fourth of July holiday is a heavy travel time.
Airport spokesperson Stacey Hamm says airlines and the TSA are anticipating lots of arrivals between July 4 through 6.
The airport is averaging around 7,200 people traveling out per day. During heavy travel times, officials encourage people to arrive 2 hours before boarding. Hamm also advises travelers to make sure their identification is up to date and that they follow proper TSA protocols to make for a speedy process.
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