Ryan Walters says delays in federal reimbursements for schools were predecessor's fault

An anonymous survey of leaders of state school districts indicates many are struggling to receive approval from the Oklahoma State Department of Education for what normally are routine applications for millions of dollars of federal reimbursement funds that flow through the state Education Department.

State schools Superintendent Ryan Walters says the problems were caused by his predecessor, Joy Hofmeister, a claim at odds with a state audit indicating that as of June 2021, the state Education Department was almost entirely in compliance with federal regulations.

The survey, conducted by the Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration, was sent to determine the status of district applications and claims in so-called “Title Program Grants” and “ESSER III” programs. Title funds consist of federal money received annually that is meant to supplement state-provided education funding. ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funds come from three federal stimulus bills passed in 2020 and 2021.

The survey, dated Nov. 17, went out to all Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration members — more than 400 — and any responses were entirely voluntary, said Pam Deering, CCOSA’s executive director. The survey received 181 responses, with 55% of those saying they have had no grants receiving final approval from the state Education Department and 72% saying their districts have no claims that have been paid through the state agency.

Deering said she could not recall districts ever receiving the federal reimbursements so deep into the school year or there ever being such a significant issue with the process.

Ryan Walters was not communicating with lawmakers on any delays, committee leader says

Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore, the head of the Oklahoma House’s budget committee on education, has frequently criticized Walters for a lack of transparency, but he wasn’t among the legislative leaders who received a memo from Walters on Friday that Walters said explains the delay.

McBride said Monday he’d tend to believe what district superintendents were telling him, but “if the information (from Walters) is credible, I wish he would have shared this information with me or the Legislature before now. I wish they were more transparent.”

Walters said new leadership in the state Education Department's Office of Federal Programs, which oversees Title and ESSER programs, “discovered several alarming issues with the distribution of federal funds to school districts and with oversight of the office in general that occurred under the previous administration” of former Superintendent Joy Hofmeister.

More: After another education official resigns, lawmaker criticizes transparency issues under Ryan Walters

Without providing specific examples, Walters said the issues included the approval of expenses that are not allowed under federal law, double payment of invoices, payment of claims lacking proper documentation, errors in coding required in ESSER III claims, manual tampering with the state's Grants Management System, erroneous calculation of district allocations, improper documentation of employee time and a general lack of training of recent hires.

“This list is not exhaustive,” Walters said in his letter.

Hofmeister didn’t respond to a message left Monday through social media and has not publicly responded to previous allegations made by Walters. But an audit by state Auditor Cindy Byrd’s office, posted in June, looked at the state Education Department’s compliance for major federal programs for the fiscal year that ended in June 2021, when Hofmeister was superintendent. The audit noted that with a minor exception, the department was in compliance with regulations regarding distribution of federal funding.

What respondents to the survey said about trying to get federal reimbursements

Deering provided The Oklahoman with the anonymous comments received on the survey. One responder complained that “the people who are making decisions in ESSER allowability have no experience in the guidance about items approved by the (U.S. Department of Education) over the past 3 years; therefore, there are items that are questioned or denied that have previously been approved through USDE.”

Another noted the new leadership that Walters touted but said, “Losing experienced leaders during the ESSER Era has been very detrimental to districts who have planned carefully for 3 years and are now being denied projects. The anxiety level among (district) federal programs directors and superintendents is intense over just getting application approved and claims paid. The focus should be on student outcomes, but now it is just compliance.”

In his letter to legislators, Walters offered statistics that contradicted the assertions of delay in the CCOSA survey. He said all applications for Title funds had been reviewed and that more than 500 were either “final approved” or in “pre-approved” status, which would allow school districts to submit claims for federal reimbursement. He said 25 applications had been reviewed by the state Education Department and returned to districts for changes and six districts hadn’t yet submitted an application for review by the department.

Walters said 179 ESSER III applications had received final approval and another 242 were in “pre-approved) status. He said 72 applications had been returned to districts for changes, seven districts had submitted applications that are “in process” and 16 districts haven’t submitted an application.

“The Federal Programs reviewers have contacted and continue to work with those districts whose applications have been returned to ensure that required changes are made,” Walters said.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Ryan Walters sends letter blaming predecessor for delayed funding