Ouch. This audit is pretty bad. State Auditor Cindy Byrd has released an audit of federally-funded grants (mainly COVID relief/stimulus money), finding about $30,000,000 in "questioned costs". This audit is federally-mandated, and could end up with the State of Oklahoma having to repay the misspent funds.
It pretty much comes down to an atmosphere of lackadaisical oversight, careless implementation, and seemingly outright intentions to flout spending rules. A proto-school choice program pushed by Gov. Stitt and then-Secretary of Education (now State Superintendent) Ryan Walters draws specific attention in the scathing report.
Here are some additional news articles to read on the audit:
- ‘Systemic issue’: Audit finds Oklahoma lacked oversight of pandemic relief funds [NonDoc]
- Audit finds special interest groups gave Oklahoma private schools first-dibs on federal relief money while rejecting poor kids [The Frontier]
- Auditor: Oklahoma Spent Millions of Federal Dollars Incorrectly [OklahomaWatch]
STATE AUDITOR BYRD RELEASES FEDERAL SINGLE AUDIT
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (June 27, 2023) Oklahoma State Auditor & Inspector (SAI) Cindy Byrd released today the Federal Single Audit of expenditures made during SFY 2021 which includes pandemic funds. This annual audit is a federally-mandated examination of how the State of Oklahoma spends federal grant money and whether the State complied with federal regulations.
