A legislative investigation of Oklahoma State Department of Education finances was OK’d Thursday by Speaker of the House Charles McCall, R-Atoka, two days after cold-shouldering a proposed probe that could have led directly to the impeachment of State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters.
McCall said Thursday that he approved a request from state Rep. Kevin Wallace, R-Wellston, for the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency to look into OSDE finances.
Wallace is chairman of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee and House chairman of the LOFT Oversight Committee. He also faces a tough runoff election on Aug. 27.
“This isn’t about Superintendent Walters,” Wallace said in a press release. “This is about the transparency of a state agency and getting answers for our constituents.
“When the Legislature approves funding for a specific purpose, it is incumbent on the agency to which those funds are allocated to spend them properly and in a timely manner,” he said. “If there are issues with disbursements being made, that information should be communicated to the Legislature well before schools are incumbered.”
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Among the complaints made against Walters during his year and a half in office is that school districts have not received estimates of federal Title I allocations in a timely fashion, that some federal grants have been allowed to lapse, and that money appropriated by the Legislature for specific purposes such as maternity leave and asthma inhalers has not been spent appropriately or at all.
“This investigation by LOFT allows us to address these concerns efficiently without the need for a costly special legislative session,” McCall said in the same press release. “I trust that Chairman Wallace, and LOFT, will conduct a comprehensive review that will provide clarity on the issues at OSDE and offer solutions to ensure that taxpayer funds are managed appropriately.”
Controlled by House and Senate leaders, LOFT documented many of the problems leading to a shakeup in the Tourism Department two years ago and criminal charges against a vendor.
A June report on the Department of Education’s use of federal grants, however, was largely inconclusive, in part because of distortions caused by COVID-19 relief funds.
A federal audit of a COVID-19 program in which Walters was involved before he became state superintendent found a pattern of mismanagement and unauthorized spending.
“We are committed to transparency, and the findings from this investigation will be made available to the public,” McCall said.
randy.krehbiel@tulsaworld.com
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Publish date : 2024-08-15 12:06:00
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