The audit alleged that Tulsa Public Schools covered expenses with money from a foundation, allowing them to avoid competitive bidding and itemized invoices.
A recent audit of Oklahoma’s Tulsa Public Schools reported financial mismanagement, noncompliance with state law and district policy, and a lack of transparency by administrators.
State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd said auditors reviewed $37.7 million in Tulsa Public Schools (TPS) expenditures between 2015 and 2023 and found that $29 million was paid to consultants. Byrd said auditors found 1,450 discrepancies in 900 invoices and 90 vendor records.
The report also alleged that TPS may have violated a state law prohibiting the teaching of critical race theory and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in Oklahoma’s public schools.
Byrd released the audit report during a press conference on Feb. 26 in Oklahoma City. She said Gov. Kevin Stitt requested the audit in 2022 after Devin Fletcher, the system’s former chief talent manager and equity officer, resigned amid allegations of mismanagement.
In October 2023, Fletcher pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He admitted to stealing $603,000 from TPS and the Foundation for Tulsa Schools, a nonprofit created to support TPS programs. Byrd said he was sentenced to 30 months in prison.
Byrd alleged Fletcher only perpetuated mismanagement that TPS administrators had engaged in since at least 2018.
“Fletcher’s misconduct was the result of a much larger problem,” Byrd said.
She said that the TPS board shared some responsibility.
“Had board members acted with more diligence … they would have been in a much better position to prevent Fletcher’s malfeasance and to provide the oversight that state law requires,” Byrd said.
According to the report, TPS administrators routinely covered expenditures with foundation money. In this way, the report alleged, they avoided TPS policy 5202, which required requests for proposals, competitive bidding, and itemized invoices for any expenditure greater than $50,000.
Using foundation money also allegedly enabled them to hide much of the mismanagement from TPS board members since the board did not routinely review foundation expenditures, according to the report.
Auditors reported more than $25 million in contracts for which TPS had no requests for proposals. Many of the contracts were just below the $50,000 threshold. This meant no bids were required.
