First reported by Oklahoma City TV news station KFOR, the letter asks:
“1. Can OSDE move appropriated funds from one category of line items in Section 2 of SB1122 ‘Limits Bill’ to another category without legislative approval?
2. Does the process outlined in Title 62, Section 34.52 apply to OSDE when moving funds from one appropriated line item category to another?
3. Does Executive Order 2023-12 require that any expenditure by OSDE over $25,000 be approved by the Secretary of Education?
4. Does Section 23 or SB1122 give the Attorney General [authority] to enforce any said parts of the Limits Bill”?
McBride also adds: “Lastly, I have no problem with bibles in classrooms and libraries.”
Title 62, referenced by McBride, outlines a process agency heads must go through in order to request any current item of appropriation be transferred to another budget category. It says the request must be made to the Office of Management and Enterprise Services and filed with the Joint Legislative Committee on Budget and Program Oversight. From there, the committee has 12 days to decide whether the transfer request subverts the intention of the legislature in allocating it.
Executive Order 2023-12 requires written advance notification be given for any non-emergency purchases exceeding $25,000 to the Cabinet’s Secretary — in this case, Oklahoma Secretary of Education Nellie Tayloe Sanders.
First reported by Oklahoma Watch, the $3 million that has been allocated to purchase 55,000 Bibles comes from “payroll savings.” At least 130 employees have left or been fired from OSDE since Walters took office.
McBride said the budget approved by the legislature specifically allocated spending categories for OSDE.
“To be honest, we felt like this was something that could happen — that we were going to be playing a shell game, moving money around,” McBride said. “We weren’t confident that money was going to where it’s supposed to go. Not that it’s not, but we wanted to make sure we had taken care of that.”
McBride said he spoke with the attorney general’s office before sending the letter and has received confirmation the office received it.
The Republican lawmaker has been outspoken about Walters’ management of the department, particularly regarding its handling of federal and state funds. While an investigation by the state’s Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency is currently underway, McBride sent a request in August to U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona for a federal investigation into the department’s finances.
“The LOFT investigation does not go as deep as I want it to go. I think there is a lot more stuff that needs to be investigated other than just some of the minor deals. I mean, we need to look at travel — we just need to look at everything,” McBride said.
McBride said he is not on a “witch hunt,” but officials must follow the law.
“Most everything that you can look at that I’ve ever asked for has to do with the rule of law. It’s not anything but, ‘Can this legally be done?’” McBride said. “So that’s why I’m asking these questions — if it can be, okay. But my simple mind says it can’t.”
OSDE did not return a request for response.
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