A much-anticipated state audit of Tulsa Public Schools details years of financial irregularities to the tune of tens of millions of dollars.
At a news conference at the state Capitol on Wednesday, State Auditor Cindy Byrd claimed the district “routinely” failed to properly oversee funds from 2015-2023.
Gov. Kevin Stitt asked for the audit following the 2022 resignation of former TPS administrator Devin Fletcher. Fletcher created fraudulent invoices that cost the district more than $600,000, though Byrd reported the figure to be closer to $824,000. Fletcher’s now serving a federal prison sentence of two years and six months.
On Wednesday evening, Stitt called the release of the audit a “first step in holding wrongdoers accountable.” He urged Oklahoma’s attorney general to take “immediate action.”
In the audit, the state says it uncovered:
- Repeated payments to vendors just below $50,000, which kept the district from having to go through the request for proposal process.
- One of every three vendor invoices lacking proper itemization.
- Nonprofit organizations collaborating with TPS, such as Growing Together, Tulsa Foundation for Schools and the Opportunity Project, involved in payments with little accountability.
- The district failed to remit at least $1.2 million in contributions to the Oklahoma Teachers Retirement System for eligible employees.
- TPS inaccurately reported at least $1 million in expenses related to its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
- Approximately $5.3 million spent in possible violation of House Bill 1775, a law that forbids teaching concepts that may make students feel guilty about their identities.
- The district provided insufficient details on invoices for $4.9 million in reimbursements using federal COVID-19 relief funds.
Byrd mostly put the blame on former Superintendent Deborah Gist, whose tenure spanned the length of the audit. Gist ran publicly afoul of Oklahoma’s top politicians over COVID school closures.
Current TPS Superintendent Ebony Johnson “has tried to let people know that she’s cleaned things up,” Byrd said, calling the audit a “playbook” for the district to rectify remaining issues.
But Byrd called out the school board in her news conference, arguing they didn’t exercise “fiduciary responsibility.”
Board President Stacey Woolley said Byrd’s remarks were unwarranted.
“I literally leaned over to one of the people who were here with the audit (two weeks ago) while they were telling us the information, and I said, ‘How would I have known this?’ She didn’t have an answer,” Woolley said.
Woolley accused Byrd of playing politics with the district through the news conference. Byrd is running for lieutenant governor in 2026.
Previously, Byrd accused the district of obfuscating and delaying the release of the audit, which TPS denied. The audit itself also notes officials displayed a “genuine commitment” to fixing problems.
District ‘shocked’ by bond director’s actions
While Superintendent Johnson was alerted by the auditor to most issues outlined at the Wednesday news conference, a newer finding involved TPS Executive Director of Bond and Energy Management Chris Hudgins.
According to Byrd, Hudgins used district resources to conduct unrelated business. Hudgins’ personal company was also paid hundreds of thousands by an engineering firm contracted as a district vendor.
“When we heard about Chris Hudgins, everyone in the room with me let out an audible gasp,” Woolley said. “There was not anyone in the room who was not completely shocked and disappointed.”
Woolley said the board planned to accept Hudgins’ resignation at a special meeting Thursday night.
Strong pushback over DEI, critical race theory concerns
Byrd accused Tulsa Public Schools of violating state law regarding teachings around race and sex — something Woolley and Johnson strongly denied. Stitt cited concerns around the teaching of racial concepts in his initial announcement of the audit in 2022.
Woolley claimed the district doesn’t teach critical race theory, at least by its legal definition. She also pointed out that the law doesn’t explicitly say “critical race theory” or “diversity, equity and inclusion.”
Johnson was also adamant that TPS teachers aren’t in violation of 1775.
“I believe that when you hear DEI and CRT together, people go to a fearful place and imagine white children being called white supremacists. That is not happening at all in Tulsa Public Schools. We would not allow that. We train our team that this is unacceptable,” said Johnson.
