OKLAHOMA CITY — In the latest round of confusion over Title I funding in Oklahoma public schools, at least two district superintendents have come forward over seeing money their district will receive, only for it to disappear and reappear as a lower number.
“Title I has been interesting this year,” Skiatook Public Schools Superintendent Rick Loggins told 2 News. “Normally by now we’ve already prepared our application and submitted it to the state for approval.”
The application Loggins refers to is for a district’s plans for the funds. That deadline is September 30.
“But we couldn’t do that because the allocations were not available to us,” he added.
Bixby Superintendent Rob Miller tweeted Aug. 19 his district’s money was suddenly taken away as well.
The district has since confirmed it got just shy of $600K, after last week’s number showed $677K.
Loggins said he also got his district’s money put back in by the Oklahoma State Department of Education at a lower amount than before.
“It is a little concerning because we use most of our Title I funds to pay for salaries. And we’ve already started school,” Loggins said. “We use the money for our support positions, our paraprofessionals.”
State Superintendent Ryan Walters disputes the narratives the district bosses said they’re facing.
“There have been a small number of voices that are saying funds were delayed or that districts have no information regarding budgeting. That’s simply not true. Those saying that are lying,” Walters said during Thursday’s State Board of Education meeting.
Walters said a technical issue in district portals produced in part with the U.S. Department of Education caused the money figure to disappear from grant management systems.
“We quickly talked to the districts, told them what happened,” Walters said during a press conference after the meeting. “We said it would be recalculated with that formula fixed. And so again, within 72 hours, those were fixed, and the clarity was given to districts about the type of funding that they received.”
Loggins said that is not true.
“There was nothing in the email that explained that,” the Skiatook superintendent said. “It just told us that our allocations were posted.”
Regardless of the inconsistencies he said his district faces, the first-year Skiatook schools head asserts he’s focused on helping his students.
“And we’re always going to do what we can to provide what they need, whether that’s curriculum or that’s staff to support their learning,” Loggins added.
“If people will communicate, if they’ll talk to each other, you can solve any problem.”
Superintendent Walters did not comment further on Miller or Miller’s lawsuit filed against him.
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