Boynton School Superintendent Cashed In Before District Shut Down

Joshua Brakhage, News On 6

TULSA, Oklahoma -- New information was released that may explain why a Green Country school district ceased to exist.

News On 6 has learned the superintendent of Boynton-Moton schools cashed in, right before her district shut down.

In a 2010 News On 6 story, Dr. Shelbie Williams seemed to be mourning the death of Boynton-Moton schools.

09/15/2010 Related Story: State Budget Cuts Force Muskogee County School To Close

"It's very sad. It's a loss of seeing students you really enjoy having at school going to another school," Williams told News On 6 in 2010.

The state stripped the district's accreditation last spring, and the district shut down over the summer. Williams blamed budget cuts.

"The funding cuts are just too great. They're just too great," she said.

In the final year the school was open, Williams advised her school board to give her a 151 percent raise, and asked for a $20,000 advance.

The board more than doubled her salary from less than $44,000, to more than $90,000. That's in a district with only 55 students.

Williams was getting paid more than $1,600 per student. By that standard, only one superintendent in the state was paid more.

To put it in perspective, Tulsa's superintendent made only $5 per student--and Union's made just $15 per student.

In 2010, Williams told News On 6 the district couldn't afford to pay teachers, and everyone was tightening their belt.

"Watched any extra expenses of any kind, down to the dollar," she said.

Williams won't be leading another Oklahoma school district any time soon.

The State Board of Education revoked her superintendent's certificate. They said her financial maneuvers violated the state Constitution, and the money should have been spent on teachers instead.