Oklahoma GOP lawmaker asks Biden official to investigate state's education agency

A Republican state lawmaker who’s been his party’s primary budget watchdog over financial issues at the Oklahoma State Department of Education has asked Democratic U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to launch a federal investigation into the state agency’s management of federal programs and use of funds.

In an Aug. 23 letter obtained by The Oklahoman, Rep. Mark McBride told Cardona he had “serious concern with OSDE’s management of the over $2.7 (billion) in federal funds along with state funds that (are) entrusted for the benefit of Oklahoma’s children and families.”

“Our students, schools and educators deserve to receive the support and funding that is necessary to ensure each student in Oklahoma receives a high-quality education,” wrote McBride, of Moore, who is term-limited and leaving office in November. “It is my expectation that OSDE’s Chief State School Officer be a faithful steward of the public funds that are entrusted to their agency.”

The letter has the potential to increase scrutiny of the state agency's financial practices, which have faced escalating criticism over the last month. Terri Grissom, a former grant writer for the agency who has been critical of state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters, has said if the agency doesn't address issues raised by the federal government, "they will come after them and withhold federal money from Oklahoma."

Dan Isett, a spokesman for Walters and the state agency, said he believed the letter had political motives.

"This is just another step in the ongoing effort by Speaker (Charles) McCall and his lapdog, Mark McBride, to impeach Superintendent Walters and try to clear the path for the 2026 election," Isett said.

There was no immediate comment from the federal agency regarding the letter from McBride, who chairs the Oklahoma House of Representatives’ education budget subcommittee.

The letter lands a month after the federal agency issued a scathing report on July 25 that identified 32 areas out of a potential 52 in which the state agency needed to show “urgent attention” in addressing. The federal agency gave the state agency 30 to 60 days to do so. Walters has said the agency will easily meet that deadline, but has provided no details as to how.

Walters, who heads the state agency, has blamed any issues highlighted in the report on his predecessor, Joy Hofmeister. The review was conducted in December, 11 months into his four-year term as superintendent.

“You guys remember when I was elected, I said, 'Listen, we’re going to have to change a lot of federal programming,’” Walters told media after the most recent state Board of Education meeting. “There was a lot of misinformation. There was a lot of arrows being thrown at us, from even some folks in the Legislature. I said, look, we’ve got to get this under control. I think I used the word ‘dumpster fire.’”

In the wake of the federal report and recent media reports of possible financial issues within the state agency, House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, agreed earlier in August to an investigation of the agency to be conducted by the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency, commonly known as LOFT.

McCall only did so, however, after McBride amassed a group of 25 Republicans to sign a petition calling for an investigation into Walters. That group joined 20 Democrats in that call, a show of bipartisanship that’s been rare at the Capitol in recent years.

Walters lashed out at McCall and McBride over the LOFT investigation and called for his own impeachment hearing. McCall, who would have to approve any impeachment hearing, declined to do so.

“What you’ve seen are political attacks directed at me from the speaker of the house, Charles McCall, and his buddy, Mark McBride,” Walters said that day. “They continue to attack my office with baseless lie after baseless lie with no evidence.”

Oklahoma school districts have complained about federal funds distribution

Timely distribution of Title I funds – which are federal funds allocated based on the number of low-income students served by schools – have been an issue for the state Department of Education under Walters.

During the 2023-24 school year, an informal survey on the timeliness of schools receiving federal funding found that 55% of districts said they had had no grants receive final approval from the state agency. And 72% said their districts had no claims that had been paid through the state agency. In past years, that money had been distributed to districts months earlier. The survey was sent to schools in November and conducted by the Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration.

On social media site X on July 27 , Bixby Public Schools Superintendent Rob Miller questioned why there has been a long delay in the Oklahoma State Department of Education informing school districts as to how much their federal funding allocations under Title I might be for the current school year.

The numbers — provided to districts by the agency’s past administrations in late spring or early summer — are vital in helping districts plan budgets and determine how many teachers they could hire. The fiscal year began July 1.

Walters criticized Miller , calling him “a clown and a liar.”

But days later, the agency sent an email to school districts saying all federal allocations, including Title I, would be published by Aug. 16. Still, after initial numbers were published, the state agency cited a “glitch” in its system and sent out revised allocation numbers to districts. Walters blamed a faulty formula on a federal spreadsheet for the issue.

McBride noted the state agency’s issues with Title I funding in his letter: “It is my understanding that OSDE was recently monitored by (the U.S. Department of Education) for the aforementioned programs where a range of performance issues indicated that OSDE is failing to meet its basic obligations to administer these programs in accordance with the letter and the spirit of the law.”

“I have received numerous complaints and allegations from local education agencies and taxpayers that districts and ultimately schools are not receiving timely, accurate and reliable receipt of allocations of (federal) formula funds for the second consecutive school year including as recently as the beginning of the school year 2024-2025,” he wrote.

The state agency’s issues with staffing – as of March, more than 130 employees had left during Walters’ tenure, most by resignation or retirement – have also caught the notice of federal officials, something McBride mentioned in his letter.

“Similar to USED’s findings, members of the state legislative body share concerns regarding staff attrition at the agency and its impacts on ensuring OSDE provides accurate and transparent information on school performance, has proper internal controls, completes and submits timely and accurate audits (and) maintains appropriate records, among other requirements,” McBride wrote.

McBride said that during Walters’ tenure, “my office has been inundated with information from current and former employees” of the state agency, “who raised many similar concerns that were outlined in the (federal) report.”

McBride asked the federal agency “to work in conjunction with my office” to make sure LOFT “has access to the information your agency has collected in its oversight mission” over federal funds “to reduce duplication in efforts and ensure a more timely conclusion of our state level investigation.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma GOP lawmaker asks Biden official to investigate state's education agency