The Tulsa Public Schools Board of Education gathered for a special meeting Thursday night.
The board first approved bids around the sale of two schools. Jones Elementary on East 15th Street contentiously closed in 2020 along with four other schools.
"For them to close our school down because they don't know how to manage money is not fair to our kids," parent Mary Hooks tearfully told 2 News at the time.
Fears that Jones would become a charter school seem to have been realized: Tulsa Honor Academy placed an accepted $1 million cash bid.
Park Elementary in west Tulsa, also closed in 2020, is slated to become a “new, nature-based, public Waldorf school.” The approved bid from nonprofit Under the Canopy was for a little over $350,000.
Board members prioritized cutting costs and liabilities around Park sitting empty, especially when the new use is for a school. But at least one board member expressed reservations about letting the land go at “a significantly lower cost than what the value is.”
“I am concerned given the current state of everything,” said board President Stacey Woolley.
That “everything” includes a critical audit released this week by State Auditor Cindy Byrd. Byrd’s office reviewed TPS expenditures between 2015 to 2023 and identified more than 1,400 irregularities across 900 transactions involving at least 90 vendors.
With frustration, the board took up the subject of the audit. Superintendent Ebony Johnson kicked off the conversation by saying officials were happy to receive the full audit Thursday. Neither TPS officials or the media were able to review the audit before Byrd held forth on its contents at a 30-minute Capitol press conference.
Johnson highlighted steps the district is taking to improve its grip on its finances, including “heightened requirements and tightened controls” on the processes for gathering bids and working with vendors. She also noted “additional questions are emerging” around some of the findings, citing the audit’s claim that a district teacher training program was operating illegally for two years.
Other questions were raised around alleged diversity, equity and inclusion spends. In 2023, Gov. Kevin Stitt signed an executive order banning DEI initiatives at state agencies. TPS officials said they scrambled to identify programs that might meet the definition, but TPS was dinged in the audit for improperly reporting at least $1 million in such expenses.
Board members said the auditor’s process for identifying those spends is mysterious and seems to be based on what selected vendors could offer rather than what was actually purchased.
“They’ve never audited this, they’ve never done this, they do not have expertise in it. We asked them what DEI was and they couldn’t give us a definition,” said board Vice President John Croisant.
Chief Financial Officer Kristin Stephens said “everything” in the audit related to internal controls and expenditures had already been addressed partially through TPS’ annual financial statement audits.
Stephens pointed to the aftermath of a 2022 investigation into Devin Fletcher that sent shockwaves through the district after it voluntarily reported suspicions. The former administrator embezzled at least $600,000 from TPS and its associated foundation, though the auditor put the figure closer to $824,000. Fletcher’s currently serving a 30-month prison term.
“There are great examples that we can show you of what was acceptable in a prior administration and what is acceptable today,” said Stephens.
Prior administrations were the focus of some additional comments, most notably from board member Calvin Moniz who was elected last year.
“I look at the past and what has happened. I love analogies and feel there was very much a Titanic issue with this district. Instead of putting the children in the lifeboats, many in the past administration put themselves in lifeboats and let this district sink. That’s something I have a hard time forgiving,” said Moniz.
When asked if Moniz was referencing former Superintendent Deborah Gist, Moniz noted that Gist indeed led the district during the years the audit spanned.
TPS has requested more information on contested items.
