OKLAHOMA CITY — A multi-county Grand Jury investigation found "significant mismanagement and misspending of millions of dollars" in the Governor's Emergency Educational Relief (GEER) fund, which was meant to help reduce disruption in education due to COVID-19.
The full report from the grand jury was released on Oct. 15.
While the jurors found no instances of criminal action or willful corruption, the jurors report characterized the handling of the grant money as “irresponsible, disappointing, and indefensible.”
An audit was done on the state's GEER spending in 2021. Here is the full audit.
Local News
Federal audit released on Oklahoma education relief spending
Attorney General Gentner Drummond called for the investigation shortly after Gov. Kevin Stitt filed a lawsuit against ClassWallet, claiming the company was to blame for mismanagement of funds.
Drummond called Stitt's lawsuit frivolous and dismissed it in January 2023.
The Grand Jury found that Gov. Stitt rejected guidance from the Trump Administration’s U.S. Department of Education that a state agency or office experienced with federal grants should serve as the funds’ fiscal agent.
Then-Secretary of Education Ryan Walters urged Stitt to use the Oklahoma State Department of Education to administer the funds instead.
However, the governor reportedly believed that the OSDE wouldn't support low-income families attending private schools and opted to use private individuals and companies.
“Without consulting the agency, the Governor’s Office assumed SDE would be unwilling to support such initiatives instead of supporting public schools. Evidence received by this Grand Jury shows this assumption was unfounded,” states the 31-page report.
Jurors said nothing indicates the Governor’s office vetted the individuals to determine their capability to oversee millions in federal grants subject to stringent compliance.
The investigation also found that the preferential treatment was given to certain individuals when applying for grants.
“The evidence received by this Grand Jury irrefutably establishes that Bridge the Gap (BTG) and Stay In School (SIS) awards were not bestowed in a fair or equitable manner” the report notes.
Ultimately, 486 applicants for BTG and SIS funds applied before the public start date. It's unclear how these applicants learned of the application before its public start date.
The State Auditor found that SIS dollars were denied to an estimated 657 students of eligible families who actually had experienced financial woes due to the pandemic.
The investigation found that issues with the funds came from the state's disregard of existing administrative safeguards by delegating authority to private entities.
“The systemic deficiencies in the BTG and SIS programs resulted in the waste and misspending of millions of dollars in emergency relief funds, subjecting Oklahoma taxpayers to liability for repayment to the federal government and depriving hundreds, if not thousands, of Oklahoma families and students from receiving the educational pandemic aid that they needed and were entitled to receive," the grand jury wrote.
Here are recommendations from the Grand Jury:
- The State should establish mandatory and ongoing training requirements in federal grant management for any agency receiving at least $10 million annually in federal funding.
- State agencies or offices receiving more than $10 million annually should be required to promulgate written rules or adopt written internal policies establishing appropriate federal grant management guidance.
- The State should establish a training program for elected officials, agency and department heads, and others that encompass procurement and purchasing standards; competitive bidding requirements; identification and resolution of conflicts of interest, recordkeeping and retention requirements; the implementation of internal controls; and recognizing and preventing fraud and mismanagement.
- A state agency receiving federal grant money should ensure that its use is overseen by personnel with sufficient training and experience in federal grant management.
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