Grand Jury: Oklahoma Gov’s Management of Pandemic Programs was ‘Indefensible’

This article was originally published in Oklahoma Voice.

OKLAHOMA CITY — A Multi-County Grand Jury investigation determined Gov. Kevin Stitt’s administration and state Superintendent Ryan Walters carried out “grossly negligent handling” of federal pandemic aid funds, but grand jurors found insufficient evidence for criminal indictments.

At the request of Attorney General Gentner Drummond, the grand jury reviewed evidence and heard witness testimony over the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund. The GEER Fund was a $39.9 million aid package from the federal government that Stitt could apply to education-focused programs of his choosing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The grand jury issued a report Tuesday, finding the Stitt administration had an “irresponsible, disappointing and indefensible” lack of internal controls over some GEER programs, including one Walters designed.

However, the grand jury said the evidence was insufficient to prove any willful corruption or criminal act.

Spokespeople for Stitt and Walters blamed the failures on a vendor hired to help administer one of the GEER programs, though the grand jury found the state was at fault.

The Governor’s Office also accused the attorney general of weaponizing the grand jury.

“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,” said Abegail Cave, communications director for Stitt.

The report reflects many of the complaints raised in state and federal audits of the GEER Fund. The federal government already demanded the state repay $650,000 in questioned costs.

The Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector’s Office reported last year that the state’s poor oversight of GEER initiatives led to the misspending of $1.7 million. State auditors questioned another $6.5 million spent on private school tuition assistance.

Grand jurors said the misspending could have been avoided had the Stitt administration chosen the Oklahoma State Department of Education to administer all of the GEER programs.

Instead, the Governor’s Office relied on two unvetted and unqualified private citizens, including Walters, rather than a state agency with extensive experience in federal grant management, according to the report.

“The evidence shows state officials, though perhaps well-intentioned, disregarded available administrative safeguards in favor of advancing a political and philosophical agenda,” the grand jury stated.

The grand jury recommended the state implement mandatory grant management training for all state agencies with federal funding of at least $10 million and require those agencies to establish written policies for grant management.

It also encouraged the Oklahoma Legislature to enact new laws limiting the delegation of authority over federal funds to private individuals.

State leaders must use available resources and experience “regardless of political and philosophical differences,” grand jurors said.

The Education Department, which state Superintendent Joy Hofmeister led at the time, received $8 million from the GEER Fund and spent all of it appropriately, auditors and grand jurors found.

But prior policy differences between Stitt and the Education Department led the Governor’s Office to rely instead on two school choice non-profit leaders to run key GEER programs funded with millions of federal dollars.

The Governor’s Office did so despite the governor’s then-secretary of state and education, Michael Rogers, advising Stitt to have the Education Department handle all of the GEER programs, according to the grand jury report.

The two chosen school choice advocates were Walters, who at the time was the director of Every Kid Counts Oklahoma (EKCO), and Jennifer Carter, of the American Federation for Children-Oklahoma.

“Evidence was presented that this selection was attributable, in part, to representations made by the EKCO Director (Walters) that EKCO had the staffing and expertise necessary to administer a federal grant program,” the report states. “However, at that time, the EKCO Director was the sole employee of EKCO and had no federal grant experience. Basic due diligence by the State would have uncovered this glaring lack of qualifications.”

The Governor’s Office wanted to use GEER funds to launch a pilot program for private school vouchers, an idea that became the Stay in School Fund, according to the report. Grand jurors found the Stitt administration made an unfounded assumption that the Education Department wouldn’t agree to manage private-school-focused programs.

The administration tapped Carter to run the Stay in School program, which was meant to give $10 million in private school tuition assistance to families experiencing financial hardship because of the pandemic.

However, state auditors found individuals from five private schools received preferential treatment when they were allowed to apply early and received funds in excess of students’ tuition obligations.

More than 1,000 students, accounting for over half of the program’s funds, received Stay in School support despite their families attesting they suffered no financial hardship from the pandemic, according to the state audit. Meanwhile, more than 650 qualifying students from low-income families were rejected because funds ran out.

Evidence presented to the grand jury showed Carter had a spreadsheet with applicants’ personally identifiable information, which the panel said it found concerning.

Even “more disturbing,” grand jurors said, was that the spreadsheet contained information that families didn’t put on their applications, like their political party registration and voting district.

“This indicates that, unbeknownst to families, their information was being collected and processed for purposes other than that for which it was disclosed,” the report states.

Carter did not immediately return a request for comment.

Walters developed and led an $8 million program, called Bridge the Gap Digital Wallet, that offered $1,500 grants for families to spend on education-related costs while their children learned from home, according to the report.

The grand jury, along with federal and state auditors, determined the Bridge the Gap program was rife with misspending because Walters chose not to apply available guardrails on purchases and did not ensure anyone checked the items families bought.

As a result, grant recipients spent $1.7 million on gaming consoles, Christmas trees, doorbell cameras and other non-educational expenses.

Walters has since tried to distance himself from the program and blamed a company managing the program’s online platform for not stopping the improper purchases.

“Superintendent Walters has prioritized carefully and efficiently using taxpayer funds,” Walters’ spokesperson, Dan Isett, said. “Unfortunately in this case, the vendor involved did not adhere to the same standards.”

The grand jury disagreed that any vendors were responsible. The report instead attributed “ill-advised” decisions to Walters and Carter but found the state bears the ultimate responsibility for misuse of funds.

“This mismanagement prevented the most vulnerable Oklahomans from getting help they desperately needed during a global pandemic,” the grand jury stated. “Citizens deserve more from their government.”

Oklahoma Voice is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@oklahomavoice.com . Follow Oklahoma Voice on Facebook and X .