In an expedited opinion aimed at ensuring schools have the necessary resources for enhanced security, Attorney General Gentner Drummond issued a formal directive today to the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) to distribute long-overdue security funds to school districts.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters requested the opinion on August 12 following reports that the OSDE was withholding unused dollars from the School Security Revolving Fund. This fund, established by the Oklahoma State Legislature in response to the 2022 Uvalde, Texas school shooting, is part of the School Resource Officer Program and mandates an annual distribution of $50 million over three years.
Drummond’s formal opinion, which holds legal authority, supports legislative leaders' view that districts can carry over funds from one year to the next.
In a letter to Walters, Drummond expressed concern over Walters' handling of the funds. He noted it was "deeply troubling" that Walters had not administered them correctly and criticized his delay in seeking guidance from the Attorney General's 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,” wrote Drummond. “I pray that your failure to deploy these funds does not result in deadly consequences.”
The opinion also highlighted inconsistencies in OSDE’s guidance to school districts.
“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,” stated Drummond's opinion.
The opinion lists three reasons supporting fund carryover:
1. House Bill 2903, which established the program and revolving fund, placed no fiscal year restrictions on fund use.
2. The relevant statutes only address “expend” or “expenditure” concerning OSDE, indicating restrictions apply solely to the state agency.
3. No constitutional fiscal year limitations restrict carrying forward funds into subsequent fiscal years.
Drummond directed OSDE to immediately distribute overdue funds statewide.
“A plain reading of the statute demonstrates legislative intent to provide $50,000,000 in each of the three years of the Program. Any distribution from the Revolving Fund that would give a school district funding it should have received in a previous fiscal year would not create an inequality of expenditures or unequal division of funds,” states Drummond's opinion.
“This [opinion] corrects the Department’s mismanagement that prevented school districts from receiving an equal distribution of Program Fund and an error that, in [Superintendent Walters’] own words, concerns and puts at risk the safety of schoolchildren.”
Read more about this development through official channels provided by OSDE.