OK law delays release Tulsa Public Schools audit
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — On Tuesday, an audit nearly three years in the making was supposed to be released on Tulsa Public Schools. Governor Stitt requested the audit over concern that the district was mishandling COVID-19 relief dollars.
The anticipation of the long-awaited audit was put on pause after State Auditor Cindy Byrd said on Tuesday morning, the district's lawyers invoked a state statute blocking the release of the audit to the public for at least two weeks.
It was July 2022 when Governor Stitt asked Byrd to look into TPS.
"At the request of two Tulsa School Board members, today I am calling for a special audit of Tulsa Public Schools and the potential mishandling of public funds," said Governor Stitt in a 2022 video.
Three years ago, the letter from Governor Stitt to Byrd said TPS got over $205 million in COVID relief, but schools were closed for 300 days, which was longer than any district in the state.
He also requested they look into concerns that the district allegedly violated a law banning schools from teaching critical race theory.
The audit was supposed to be released on Tuesday.
"The audit is complete and the findings are significant, but you're not allowed to see it," said Cindy Byrd, State Auditor.
Byrd said lawyers for the Tulsa School Board blocked the release on Tuesday, and according to an Oklahoma State Statute, they're well within their rights to do it.
"This statute allows school districts the unique ability to deny the public access to the audit findings for two weeks," said Byrd.
Byrd said the audit is done and the findings won't change. She also added the delay of the release is similar to what they've seen while trying to conduct the audit in the first place.
"If you are wondering why this audit took two years to complete it is because of the constant obstacles that TPS administrators employed to delay and mislead our investigators," said Byrd.
News 4 reached out to TPS for comment.
Today, Tulsa Public Schools and members of its Board of Education met with representatives of the Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector’s Office to receive the results of the audit of the district. During these meetings, the state auditor’s office offered an overview of their anticipated findings. Tulsa Public Schools did not pursue any legal action in response to the state auditor’s scheduled media appearance or report release. In fact, the district was made aware of the auditor’s plans via media reports. The statute (70 O.S., 5-127.1) in question provides for “at least fourteen (14) days prior to the release of the audit to the public.” During that time, a school district under audit may work in cooperation with the State Auditor’s office to offer any clarifying information or additional context that would be important for its stakeholders to have a full understanding of the facts. Additionally, the district does not have the full audit report, has not seen it, and does not make the decision when (or when not) to release it. As we await the final report and supporting documents from the State Auditor’s office, we will continue to work in the cooperative spirit that Tulsa Public Schools has exercised since July of 2022. During that time, the district has welcomed the opportunity to revise and improve our practices and procedures and will continue to operate in a spirit of continuous improvement. In fact, Tulsa Public Schools has already refined and strengthened most of the areas raised by the state auditor’s office in their narrative today. Our primary focus has been, and remains, working on behalf of the young people we serve.
Tulsa Public Schools
"To be clear, the Tulsa School Board and the Tulsa superintendent have the power to let you see the audit report and its findings right now. They have chosen not to. Why? I invite you, the press, to get the answer to that question," said Byrd.
Byrd said there is a chance the audit could be released on Wednesday, but it's unclear if that's official right now.