Tulsa World: State looking to claw back millions in private school tax credit paid to families who didn't qualify

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR/TULSA WORLD) — The Tulsa World uncovered records showing the Oklahoma Tax Commission (OTC) is attempting to claw back millions of dollars in tax credits paid to families as part of the state's "school choice" program and also found that the OTC paid millions to a third-party company to administer the program, despite the company's poor performance.

Tulsa World’s Andrea Eger reported that state officials have quietly ended their nearly $4 million-a-year agreement with a California-based vendor to operate the new Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit Program after an initial year reportedly plagued by delays, errors, and missed deadlines.

In an interview with News 4 on Friday, Eger said she has been working on the report for more than five months, after finishing a previous report, which uncovered that the OTC is keeping the list of private schools benefitting from the program confidential.

In the time since, Eger uncovered records the Tax Commission never shared with the public, or even the Governor, which show Tax Commission leaders knew about the problems months before finally cutting ties with the vendor.

Additionally, Eger's report also uncovered that, now, the Oklahoma Tax Commission says it is trying to recapture $5 million in funds from 1,855 Oklahoma taxpayers for students who did not attend participating private schools for the entire period for which the tax credit was approved. 

News 4 reached out to the OTC and Governor Kevin Stitt's office with questions about Eger's findings on Friday, but did not hear back.