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Oklahoma blasted for lack of oversight on millions of dollars in COVID education relief money

State and regional news

In a scathing report based on an audit ofhow Oklahoma spent millions of dollars through the Governor’s Educational Emergency Relief Fund Grant (GEER), the U.S. Department of Education Office of the Inspector General found major problems with four of the five programs.

In one particular program, more than $650,000 of the $8 million spent was determined to have been used for purchases with little or no educational purpose, including televisions, refrigerators, Christmas trees, and smart watches.

That’s just one concern alleged in the report, which you can read HERE.

Another example involves the fund set up for private school students, known as the “Stay in School Initiative.”

The OIG report indicates it drew a small, random sample of ten recipients - and in eight of those ten cases, could not find any documentation for those recipients’ eligibility.

Indeed, the report goes on to say that in many cases, Oklahoma had no clear explanation of its process to determine recipients of millions of dollars of GEER money.

Broadly speaking, the report outlines serious concerns about accountability, oversight, and the selection process for recipients in all but one of those five GEER programs.

The sole exception was the program administered by the State Department of Education.

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