Legislative watchdog details lack of communication in sending funds to schools

Ryan Walters wants you to know it’s not his fault.

Both the Oklahoma State Department of Education and the Oklahoma Legislature could do a better job of communicating to school districts funding timelines and the processes involved in new programs like paid maternity leave, school security grants and asthma inhalers, a legislative watchdog concluded in a report presented Tuesday.

Republican State Superintendent Walters, meanwhile, called the report a waste of time and the result of a political vendetta by House leadership, especially outgoing Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore. Walters and about a dozen of the top leaders at the agency appeared for almost two hours before a committee to discuss the report by the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency.

“It’s really unfortunate we’re here today,” Walters said at the hearing. “This is a waste of time for the people of the state of Oklahoma. We have been transparent in everything that we do, both with the public, with the Legislature and with districts.”

The LOFT report looked at federal Title I funds, paid maternity leave, teacher raises for schools off the statewide funding formula, school security grants and the availability of funds for asthma inhalers to school districts. Some districts and lawmakers questioned the timing of providing funds to districts in each of those programs earlier this year.

The report did not address other issues that have drawn attention, like the agency’s recent procurement plan for Bibles in the classroom, agency travel expenses, spending on an outside public relations firm for Walters or legal expenses for multiple lawsuits against the agency.

Oklahoma Watch (OklahomaWatch.org) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that covers public-policy issues facing the state.