What Are GEER Funds? Why The State Is Being Investigated For Mismanagement

An investigation into the state's mismanagement of the Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) revealed alleged mismanagement of approximately $39.9 million.

The funds were intended to assist families during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the report.

What are GEER funds, and why were they allocated?

Oklahoma received federal funds called GEER to help families affected by COVID-19 with their kids' education on July 2, 2020. The state created two main programs:

Bridge the Gap (BTG) – This program was meant to give families $1,500 to buy things like school supplies and technology.

Stay in School (SIS) – This program was designed to give scholarships up to $6,500 to help low-income families keep their kids in private schools.

What happened?

According to the investigation report, several things were to blame.

Poor Management: Instead of giving the money to experienced state agencies, Oklahoma’s leaders allegedly put non-government groups and private individuals in charge of running these programs. These groups didn’t have the right experience to manage federal money, and there wasn’t much oversight to make sure the money was used correctly, according to the report.

'Bridge The Gap' Failures:

1. Misuse of Funds: Families used BTG money to buy non-educational items like TVs, Xboxes, and home appliances, the report stated. In total, over $1.7 million was spent on items that didn’t have anything to do with education, according to the report.
2. No Controls: There were no rules in place to stop people from spending the money on things that weren’t for school. The state didn’t even check what people were buying.
3. The federal government found over 3,100 unauthorized purchases, and Oklahoma was told to pay back $650,000.

'Stay In School Failures:

1. Unfair Distribution: The report outlined that some private schools got special treatment, meaning families from these schools got early access to apply for scholarships, giving them an unfair advantage. This led to nearly $2 million being awarded early, according to the report.
2. Overpayment: Some private schools received over $1.8 million even though they didn’t need that much money because the students there were already getting financial help from other sources, the report stated.
3. Wrong Families: More than half of the families that got SIS scholarships (about 56%) didn’t actually have a financial problem due to COVID-19, according to the report. This means over $5.3 million was given to families who didn’t need the money. Another $11,000 went to families who didn’t qualify because they made too much money, the report stated.

The report states that while no crimes were found, the investigation "showed that Oklahoma’s government made poor decisions, didn’t follow basic rules, and didn’t put enough safeguards in place to prevent this. The state now owes money back to the federal government, and many families who actually needed help missed out. The report recommends better training and oversight to prevent this from happening again."

How much money is it really?

Here’s a breakdown of the $39,919,354 allocated to Oklahoma from the GEER funds:

Bridge the Gap (BTG): $8,000,000

This program provided microgrants of up to $1,500 to families for purchasing educational supplies and technology.

Stay in School (SIS): $10,000,000

This program offered scholarships of up to $6,500 to low-income families to help maintain their children’s enrollment in private schools.

Skills to Rebuild Initiative: $1,000,000

This initiative provided accelerated, tuition-free job training programs for adults.

Learn Anywhere Oklahoma Initiative: $12,000,000

This initiative provided access to online curriculum for K-12 students, administered by the State Virtual Charter School Board.

State Department of Education: $8,000,000

This portion was allocated for competitive incentive grants to local school districts most significantly impacted by COVID-19.

Overall, these allocations combined total $39,919,354

Governor Kevin Stitt responded with this statement on Tuesday:

"As said at the start of this report, no criminal activity or willful corruption occurred. The state trusted a vendor, that vendor failed to do its job. The AG has weaponized a grand jury to sign off on a press statement his office prepared. Ultimately, this was an inappropriate and unlawful use of a grand jury, all to pursue a headline in the attorney general’s campaign for governor. Oklahomans can see right through this weaponization of the law."

State Superintendent Ryan Walters' office also responded with the following statement on Tuesday:

"Superintendent Walters has prioritized carefully and efficiently using taxpayer funds. Unfortunately in this case, the vendor involved did not adhere to the same standards. Superintendent Walters's deep commitment to fiscal responsibility and taxpayer accountability has been borne out during his time as Secretary and now as State Superintendent. Under his leadership, OSDE has instituted the highest standards to ensure the most efficient use of taxpayer money possible."

The full report can be read below: