TULSA, Okla. — Days after State Auditor Cindy Byrd released the federally-mandated report claiming $30 million in questionable costs, including pandemic funding, Attorney General Gentner Drummond says he is not surprised.
Drummond says he is disappointed the most vulnerable appear to be some of the biggest victims.
“I’m disappointed as an Oklahoman that we had such a great opportunity to impact true children in need, and we did not,” he said. “We squandered money, and we awarded money to powerful people that are connected to powerful people.”
One of the most headline-grabbing revelations of the report involved the Stay in School fun. It was designed to provide financial assistance to private school families facing hardship. It was discovered half of the families awarded were not financially struggling, and a big chunk of money was given to schools rather than families. Five schools were listed as “exception schools” that were given preferential treatment. Those perks included being able to apply for assistance before the public, hosting open houses before the application deadline, and money going directly to schools.
“The State Department of Education, at that time, was run by Joy Hofmeister. And she had great experts, subject matter experts, inside the department of education that had the qualifications and expertise to properly manage and deploy these funds in the manner in which the governor intended,” said Drummond.
- Previous coverage >>> AG says audit on education fund 'highlights significant problems' in spending
“Instead, he [Governor Stitt] did not trust the Hofmeister regime, and he went outside of state government to an agency that was ill-equipped and inappropriate.”
The agency in question to allocate the special treatment was Libertas Consulting, LLC. 2News learned that Libertas is run by Jennifer Carter. Her husband, Ray Carter, is on staff for a conservative think tank called Oklahoma Council for Public Affairs (OCPA).
It is unclear what the schools knew about any plan.
However, on July 17, 2020, Governor Stitt announced $30 million in Covid-related education funding (Bridge the Gap, Stay in School, Learn Anywhere Oklahoma). In an OCPA web article written that same day, Carter included statements of praise on the Stay in School plan from officials at Cristo Rey, Crossover Prep (Tulsa), Mission Academy High School, and Positive Tomorrows. Those are four of the five schools that would later be listed as getting special treatment.
2News also learned that the co-founder of Oklahoma City’s Cristo Rey, Renee Porter, worked with Ryan Walters on Every Kid Counts Oklahoma.
We reached out to Crossover Prep for comment and have scheduled an interview.
Drummond says he plans to work with State Auditor Byrd “aggressively” throughout the summer and hopes to have more answers for the public by early fall.
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