Last week, House Speaker Charles McCall (Republican of Atoka) called for a review of the LOFT program in response to concerns from lawmakers and school officials across the state that funds were not being allocated on time or in accordance with the law. Some said delays at the Department of Education had led to financial problems for some school districts.

McCall said investigators should determine whether taxpayer funds were properly managed. They would also look into possible violations of the public records or open meetings law.

The Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency was created in 2019 to strengthen legislative oversight of state agency budgets. Among other things, LOFT staff, known as program evaluators, can examine agencies’ funding sources and determine whether agencies have met their legal obligations in managing the funds.

According to the office’s website, in recent years it has issued 30 reports, submitted 244 “policy ideas” to lawmakers for consideration and made 138 recommendations to various agencies.

A bipartisan oversight committee of state lawmakers, chaired by Kevin Wallace (R-Wellston), is giving the office initial direction for the investigation. Wallace said LOFT has already begun a preliminary review of the funding issues it will review at the Department of Education, including legal guidelines on how the funds will be used.

“LOFT evaluations typically take at least 90 days. The office is accelerating this work and will provide an update to the legislative oversight committee as soon as possible,” Wallace said.

After the reviewers have completed their work, a written report is submitted to the Supervisory Committee for presentation at a public meeting.

After plans for the LOFT investigation were announced, Walters called a press conference at the Capitol to publicly demand that McCall instead immediately begin impeachment proceedings against him. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the House of Representatives would have jurisdiction to present articles of impeachment and the Senate would serve as the impeachment court.

Interim Senate President Greg Treat has asked that senators involved in oversight of LOFT recuse themselves from the investigation to avoid a potential conflict of interest if they are ultimately called upon to act on its findings.

“While this is not consistent with LOFT’s original mission or purpose, and the Senate was not involved in initiating the investigation, the concerns are serious and the nature of this matter deserves attention,” Treat said in a statement. “I hope the House moves forward expeditiously.”

Wallace clarified that while LOFT’s legislative oversight committee members play an important role in identifying areas of investigation and receiving findings and recommendations, they do not participate in investigations. He added that the sole purpose of the Department of Education’s investigation will be to evaluate funding allocation.

“This is not an audit of the Secretary of Education,” he said. “This is about transparency of a government agency and getting answers for our constituents.”

During his press conference, Walters accused McCall of requesting the LOFT investigation to gain leverage against a potential rival ahead of the state’s next gubernatorial election. However, a recently released federal report seemed to confirm state officials’ concerns and justify the need for a close look at OSDE’s financial management. The report revealed “significant compliance or quality issues that urgently need to be addressed.”