As nearly $200M of federal education grants expire, lawmakers question if OSDE is applying
A former State Department of Education employee is calling out the current administration. The whistleblower claims Supt. Walters' assertion that the state is on track with federal grants is all smoke and mirrors. (KOKH)
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KOKH) — A former State Department of Education employee is calling out the current administration.
The whistleblower claims Supt. Walters' assertion that the state is on track with federal grants is all smoke and mirrors.
The new allegations and documents coming forward are bringing up more questions inside the Capitol.
Many are wondering who to point fingers at across the street at the State Department of Ed.
Speaking before the House Appropriations and Budget Committee, Walters said, "My agency hasn’t missed a single deadline for any grant or any program, not a single one."
That comment has lead to a former grant writer from the Dept. of Ed to reach out to Rep. Mark McBride, Chair of the House Education Budget Subcommittee.
The former employee's email claims the statement Walters made is a blatant lie, adding that she wrote up, but didn't submit a single grant under his agency because of his claims they were "too woke."
With that message in his inbox, Rep. McBride started looking into the issue.
"I vetted this person before I ever started digging into this. So I knew that she was legitimate and had a good track record," Rep. McBride said.
He and other lawmakers asked Walters to provide a list of information on the grant process, including the criteria for applying, the current active grants the state is utilizing along with the deadline to apply for others.
Walters responded with a spreadsheet of documents that the state is already receiving, a dozen of which expire in the coming months.
"The way I understand it was all of these grants were under Joy Hofmeister," Rep. McBride said.
When it comes to applying for new grants, or re-applying for previous ones, he sent a list of three. All were in progress but not submitted.
One of which has a deadline this upcoming Monday.
"As far as I can tell, there have been no new grants that have been applied for," Rep. McBride said.
The criteria Supt. Walters uses to apply for grants is also under question.
His stated requirements include aligning to the priorities of the Walters administration and detail that requirements that don't align with "Oklahoma values" will not be considered.
"I think each individual school district can create their own values that they believe in," Rep. McBride said. "A lot of these grants are requested by these individual school districts."
This is the beginning of what could turn into a much larger investigation.
Rep. McBride added that he has people in the right place on multiple different levels digging into this.
FOX25 reached out to OSDE for a statement:
It is unfortunate that an employee has decided to lie about the agency and it’s activities. This is further evidence to support that Joy Hofmeister is an arsonist who let fires burn out of control in her SDE departure. Employees running to the press because they do not like accountability is disappointing. -Matt Langston
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