'It's Very Worrisome': Osage County Teacher Suing OSDE After Being Ordered To Pay Back $50,000 Signing Bonus

An Osage County teacher is suing state superintendent Ryan Walters and the State Department of Education after she was told to pay back a $50,000 signing bonus.

The teacher says she is frustrated because she thought she met the criteria and the education department approved her application.

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Out of hundreds who received the money, nine were later notified they did not meet the qualifications and needed to repay the funds. This includes Kay Bojorquez, a special education teacher with Epic Charter School.

Related Story: Oklahoma State Department Of Education Asks Some Teachers to Repay Bonuses, Upwards Of $50,000

Her decision to work in Oklahoma was made a lot easier after she was approved for the bonus.

“I had kind of thought about moving out of state, getting into a different field, a different line of work,” she said. “Once they offered that I thought, well, this must be my fate.”

The feeling of fate turned into a nightmare when she received a notice to pay back all of the money with a month’s notice.

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“It took me about 30 minutes to process what was happening,” she said. “I threw up immediately because I knew there’s no way I can pay this money back.”

Bojorquez read the application and thought she met the requirements. She is wondering why the state education department initially approved her application and gave her the money if it now claims she didn’t meet the requirements.

“I emailed and asked for someone to contact me and I called that day and the next day and asked for phone calls back and I haven’t received any phone calls from anyone,” she said.

Bojorquez said she would have to file for bankruptcy if she had to pay the money back. She is worried about her future.

“I’ve been called a liar. That’s a huge thing and it’s very worrisome,” she said. “I don’t even know if I’m going to be able to provide for my family after this because I don’t really know what’s going to happen to my career.”

News On 6 asked Walters for a comment on the lawsuit but he referred us to a letter he sent to lawmakers. In that letter, Walters took a shot at the media for its coverage of the signing bonus program.

He went on to say the program is going well and “during the audit process, SDE discovered that several teachers misrepresented their experience and qualifications.” Walters says the department is working to keep everyone accountable.