Mid-Del Schools loses appeal over use of COVID relief funds

By Jeff Harrison
Midwest City Beacon

Mid-Del Schools will have to repay more than half a million dollars in federal relief funds after the Oklahoma State Department of Education denied the district’s appeal.

State school Superintendent Ryan Walters had ordered that the district repay $537,588.96 in federal COVID relief funds that he said was misspent on “athletic lawn services” from 2020-22.

Mid-Del contested that the funds were not misspent but initially agreed to return the money. The district instead filed an appeal after learning that the funds would not be reallocated.

An administrative panel reviewed the district’s appeal. The panel upheld Walters’ initial decision.

In a statement, Walters accused Mid-Del Schools Superintendent Rick Cobb and the district of being dishonest about how the federal funds were spent.

“This was a clear misuse of taxpayer dollars from the beginning,” Walters said. “Instead of coming clean immediately, Cobb chose to continue sidestepping the law and both federal and agency policy. The district failed taxpayers by not employing adequate financial controls while making decisions that appear to be tainted by nepotism.”

Walters applauded his staff for their work.

“I am proud that my administration is rooting out financial impropriety like this, and we will continue to work every day to make sure every dollar of taxpayer money goes toward benefitting Oklahoma students,” he said.

Cobb said they faced an uphill battle with the appeal process.

“The panel hearing our appeal consisted of three top advisers to State Superintendent Walters,” he said. “They were in a no-win situation. Doing the right and lawful thing would have meant going against him.”

Cobb said the dispute involves differing interpretations of complex federal regulations, noting that all the expenditures had been initially approved by State Department of Education staff.

“It is very interesting that the Superintendent is now accusing Mid-Del of being dishonest when we fully disclosed every penny we spent, and Oklahoma State Department of Education officials approved every expenditure claim,” Cobb said.

Cobb accused Walters of political grandstanding.

“Since Walters has been in office, the Department has asked districts to return COVID Relief Funds dozens of times,” he said. “None of those other requests have been accompanied by a press release. In every other one of these situations, the school district has had the opportunity to reallocate the funds.”

The district will continue to explore its legal options either at the state or federal level. Cobb also again called on OSDE to fulfill an Open Records request from January that would “provide additional context in this matter.”

During the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years, Mid-Del officials said they used pandemic relief funds “only after receiving guidance and approval from the OSDE at that time… The expenditures aligned with our understanding of the federal guidelines and those of OSDE staff.”

The district contracted with FullScope Restorations to provide lawncare and athletic fields maintenance. The contract included baseball, softball and football practice fields at the middle and high schools.

The dispute over the COVID relief funds stemmed from a state Senate budget hearing earlier this year. During the hearing, Sen. Brenda Stanley asked Walters about delays in federal funds for school districts. Walters responded by saying that Mid-Del Schools misspent more than $500,000 of federal funds “on lawn care that is expressly prohibited in federal rules and regulations.”

Cobb called the claims false and offensive during a state school board meeting on Jan. 25.

“Your statement was wrong, on multiple levels, and I can’t stand idly by and let you defame our great school district or any of the hard-working people handling our federal programs applications and claims, up to and including myself,” Cobb told Walters at the meeting.

Cobb said that federal guidance on the use of funds includes 20 separate categories describing what is allowable. He said the district spent money that fell under a number of these categories, including one that allowed expenditures for “other activities that are necessary to maintain the operation of and continuity of services…and continuing to employ existing staff.”