An investigation into how the Oklahoma State Department of Education spends its money will focus on several key concerns raised by state lawmakers.
The Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency LOFT will examine how the agency is handling federal school funding, money for school security, maternity leave, asthma inhalers, and teacher pay raises at off-formula schools.
Rep. Kevin Wallace, who co-chairs the LOFT oversight committee, aims to complete the investigation by late October. Wallace called for the investigation in August after hearing concerns from both citizens and legislators. School administrators also complained about delays in receiving federal funds and other designated money.
At the same time, Oklahoma faced some changes in Republican lawmakers, which could affect how the Legislature responds to the investigation’s findings. Wallace lost his seat during the August elections, and other lawmakers critical of the education department’s spending practices, like Rep. Mark McBride, are no longer in office.
State Superintendent Ryan Walters has dismissed the criticism as unfounded and challenged the House of Representatives to start impeachment proceedings against him if they have evidence.
In June, LOFT released a report on federal funding for the education department. At a recent meeting, LOFT’s interim director confirmed the report had been updated to address questions from lawmakers about grants received before 2019. The updated report lists grants awarded between 2019 and 2024, totaling millions in federal funding.
The report also notes that federal grants are a small portion of the department’s overall budget, which totaled $1.11 billion in 2024. It also points out issues with the department’s record-keeping, especially for grants applied for before 2019.