Tuesday, October 15th 2024, 10:30 pm
An investigation into the state's mismanagement of the Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) revealed alleged mismanagement of approximately $39.9 million.
The funds were intended to assist families during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the report.
Oklahoma received federal funds called GEER to help families affected by COVID-19 with their kids' education on July 2, 2020. The state created two main programs:
Bridge the Gap (BTG) – This program was meant to give families $1,500 to buy things like school supplies and technology.
Stay in School (SIS) – This program was designed to give scholarships up to $6,500 to help low-income families keep their kids in private schools.
According to the investigation report, several things were to blame.
Poor Management: Instead of giving the money to experienced state agencies, Oklahoma’s leaders allegedly put non-government groups and private individuals in charge of running these programs. These groups didn’t have the right experience to manage federal money, and there wasn’t much oversight to make sure the money was used correctly, according to the report.
'Bridge The Gap' Failures:
'Stay In School Failures:
The report states that while no crimes were found, the investigation "showed that Oklahoma’s government made poor decisions, didn’t follow basic rules, and didn’t put enough safeguards in place to prevent this. The state now owes money back to the federal government, and many families who actually needed help missed out. The report recommends better training and oversight to prevent this from happening again."
Here’s a breakdown of the $39,919,354 allocated to Oklahoma from the GEER funds:
Bridge the Gap (BTG): $8,000,000
This program provided microgrants of up to $1,500 to families for purchasing educational supplies and technology.
Stay in School (SIS): $10,000,000
This program offered scholarships of up to $6,500 to low-income families to help maintain their children’s enrollment in private schools.
Skills to Rebuild Initiative: $1,000,000
This initiative provided accelerated, tuition-free job training programs for adults.
Learn Anywhere Oklahoma Initiative: $12,000,000
This initiative provided access to online curriculum for K-12 students, administered by the State Virtual Charter School Board.
State Department of Education: $8,000,000
This portion was allocated for competitive incentive grants to local school districts most significantly impacted by COVID-19.
Overall, these allocations combined total $39,919,354
Governor Kevin Stitt responded with this statement on Tuesday:
"As said at the start of this report, no criminal activity or willful corruption occurred. The state trusted a vendor, that vendor failed to do its job. The AG has weaponized a grand jury to sign off on a press statement his office prepared. Ultimately, this was an inappropriate and unlawful use of a grand jury, all to pursue a headline in the attorney general’s campaign for governor. Oklahomans can see right through this weaponization of the law."
State Superintendent Ryan Walters' office also responded with the following statement on Tuesday:
"Superintendent Walters has prioritized carefully and efficiently using taxpayer funds. Unfortunately in this case, the vendor involved did not adhere to the same standards. Superintendent Walters's deep commitment to fiscal responsibility and taxpayer accountability has been borne out during his time as Secretary and now as State Superintendent. Under his leadership, OSDE has instituted the highest standards to ensure the most efficient use of taxpayer money possible."
The full report can be read below:
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