Oklahoma A.G. Would Like To Know Where Ryan Walters Spent A Bunch Of Money

from the gone-but-not-forgotten dept

I’m sure all of you beautiful people thought we were collectively done with former Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters. After he resigned abruptly in late September, nearly in mid-screed mandating that public schools hold a moment of silence for slain conservative operative Charlie Kirk and mandating a chapter of Turning Point USA at all public high schools, the process for unwinding all the stupid, christo-fascist demands and policies he’d put in place immediately began. So… you thought we were done with him.

But we’re not. Fortunately, the reason we’re not is of a different flavor than previous posts. As the Oklahoma Stated Dept. of Education (OSDE) has already begun scrubbing government websites of some of Walters’ more shitty mandates and policies, the state Attorney General, Gentner Drummond, has launched a full investigation into how the agency spent allocated money under Walters’ leadership.

Local news has much more in the way of details, which largely revolve around just how much of the money from taxpayers was spent on schools, teachers, and students.

Attorney General Gentner Drummond has ordered an investigative audit of the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE), citing concerns over spending practices under former State Superintendent Ryan Walters. However, the State Auditor & Inspector’s Office claims it has not received such a request.

In a letter sent Wednesday to State Auditor and Inspector General Cindy Byrd, Drummond said his office received reports from current and former OSDE staff raising questions about how taxpayer dollars were used during Walters’ tenure.

“You are well aware that the former Superintendent has a documented history of mismanaging tax dollars, as it was your office that exposed Mr. Walters for granting ‘blanket approval’ for families to purchase non-educational items like Xboxes and refrigerators,” Drummond wrote to Auditor Byrd. “Given the former Superintendent’s well-established history of mishandling tax dollars, combined with new and ongoing allegations of misspending, I am now ordering an investigative audit.”

It’s starting to look like Walters’ resignation may have had less to do with his desire to run a non-profit focused on being against teachers unions in the state and more to do with investigations such as this. And, to be clear, this is all bi-partisan. So when Walters eventually comments on how this is all the “woke-left communist fascist chupacabras that are just out to get good, hardworking white men Americans”, you should know that is a laughable lie.

At least 26 Republican lawmakers also signed a letter last year requesting an investigation into Walters’ leadership, raising alarms over delayed or missing funding for teacher maternity leave, Title I programs, school security and inhalers. Budget leaders said the money had already been appropriated but was not reaching schools.

“The money absolutely exists,” Sen. Chuck Hall (R), the Senate Budget and Appropriations Chair, said.

A grand jury was convened as part of that investigation, but no criminal wrong doing was found at that time. Instead, it found that during and in the immediate aftermath of the COVID pandemic, not enough safeguards were put in place by the government to regulate how third party partners were spending taxpayer funds, finding that non-educational items were purchased with them instead. Those two third party partners were ClassWallet, an online fund disbursement tool, and a non-profit partner called Every Kid Counts, which was tasked with using ClassWallet to disperse the funds.

And, well…

In 2024, a grand jury found that the state did not set up administrative safeguards to keep people from purchasing ineligible items with those funds, which were meant for school supplies and other necessities.

The grand jury also said the state gave control of the funds to people who did not have the experience needed to oversee the program. At the time, Walters was the Executive Director of the nonprofit known as Every Kid Counts. That organization partnered with Gov. Stitt to distribute the funds through ClassWallet’s digital tool.

An accounting of how OSDE spent taxpayer funds under Walters’ leadership makes total sense. He’s already been part of a spending scandal, whether he was found directly liable or not.

I have a feeling this won’t be the last post we will do on the subject.

Filed Under: cindy byrd, gentner drummond, oklahoma, osde, ryan walters, schools