OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Attorney General Gentner Drummond directed the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) on Sunday to distribute school security funds.
The expedited opinion was issued in response to State Superintendent Ryan Walters’ August 12 request after news reports came out claiming OSDE was refusing to let schools keep unused money from the School Security Revolving Fund, reports KOCO. The funds were being withheld by the agency due to a legal disagreement with the state legislature, reports The Oklahoman.
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The School Security Revolving Fund was created in response to the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. OSDE was directed to spend $50 annually to K-12 districts over three years.
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Drummond’s legally binding opinion supports legislators’ claims that school districts can carry over the funds year over year.
Opinion Harshly Criticizes OSDE’s Failure to Distribute School Security Funding
“I find it deeply troubling that you have failed to properly administer these critical funds intended to protect Oklahoma’s schoolchildren,” the attorney general said in his opinion. “Of your numerous responsibilities as Superintendent of Public Instruction, none is more important than ensuring the physical protection of Oklahoma’s schoolchildren.
“Even worse, you waited more than a year before seeking guidance from my office. Those wasted months have resulted in school districts not receiving millions of dollars in funds they could have used to bolster security and protect students. I pray that your failure to deploy these funds does not result in deadly consequences.”
In the opinion, Drummond says OSDE “required a school district to first expend its own funds and then wait on reimbursement from the Department,” instead of sending the funds directly to schools as legislatively directed.
“The Department also advised school districts that their funds were available for carryover throughout the three-year program period but, arbitrarily and without notice, reversed course and zeroed out the district balances,” Drummond said in his opinion.
Walters issued the following statement to NewsOn6 in response to the opinion:
“Nothing is more important than the safety of our students and at NO time have our schools gone without security funding in any way. Due to ambiguity in the statute passed by the legislature, there was a question of whether some districts that did spend certain security funds in the previous fiscal year could legally roll over that money to this year. The legislature considered, but did not pass, an amendment that would have removed any doubt about the rollover issue. To get clarity on these legal issues, I requested this opinion from the Attorney General and our agency may now move forward.”