Tulsa Public Schools audit released after 2 weeks: Here's what we learned

The Oklahoma state auditor is releasing her forensic audit findings into Tulsa Public Schools.

State Auditor Cindy Byrd released the results at the State Capitol Wednesday afternoon after the district asked for a two-week delay.

Keys of the audit from Byrd:

1. The Devon Fletcher case was the catalyst for the audit.
2. The focus of the audit was on a small group of administrators, not what was being taught.
3. The audit found over 1,400 financial discrepancies, what Byrd described as "a culture of financial non-compliance."
4. The audit examined $37.3 million in expenditures and found that $25 million was spent in violation of the district's own policies.
5. TPS had made more than 700 payments to vendors without ever receiving the documentation needed to prove services.
6. Byrd referenced a summer intern hired in 2021 who was paid $13,000 for five weeks of work and given housing covered by the foundation. There was no evidence the intern's work was used by the district.
7. TPS had a disregard for invoices and proof of receipt was blatant, Byrd said. If closer attention was paid to this, Fletcher never would have been able to steal the money.
8. Out of 900 invoices, more than 300 lacked proper itemization.
9. Invoices didn't have specific services on them.
10. Budget-based invoices without information or description of services.
11. Difficult to hold vendors accountable when contract language is vague.
12. For two years, "Teacher Corps", a program for a path to teacher certification, operated without proper authorization, background checks and many of the participants did not meet any basic requirements for classroom instruction.
13. Byrd said the Teacher Corps became the vehicle for Fletcher's largest misappropriations.

QnA portion of the audit:

1. "I think the chief financial officer of TPS is the one responsible for answering for all these financial issues," Byrd said.
2. The scope of the audit ended with school year 2023.
3. "All of these issues had been communicated with Superintendent Johnson about nine months ago," Byrd said.
4. "I think that having a foundation to supplement public education is a wonderful thing," Byrd said. "We just need to see what we spend money on and make sure we’re doing things in a transparent manner."
5. "I think we are giving Dr. Johnson the playbook on how to go forward and be transparent and accountable," Byrd said.

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Why Were The TPS Audit Results Delayed?

Byrd stated in a press conference two weeks ago that attorneys for TPS have invoked Oklahoma Statute Title 70, section 5-127.1, which allows for school districts to delay the release of audit findings for two weeks.

"In my 28 years of conducting government audits, including countless school districts, no one has ever invoked this statute," Byrd said.

Interview with TPS Superintendent Dr. Ebony Johnson

News On 6 sat down with TPS Superintendent Dr. Ebony Johnson the day after the Feb. 11 news conference. Here's a link to that interview

Here's some of our past coverage on the TPS audit:

1. TPS audit results withheld: Why the public can’t see the findings yet
2. Tulsa Public Schools responds to delay in audit release
3. Audit of Tulsa Public Schools stalled—Here’s what led to the investigation