TPS Board Holds Special Meeting To Discuss Missing Money

Tulsa Public Schools' board held a special meeting Thursday night just after the Governor Kevin Stitt called for an audit into the district.

The already-scheduled meeting was to discuss the resignation of a top official and the mishandling of money.

Because it was a closed executive session, Tulsa Public Schools did not release details of what was discussed.

The board discussed the resignation of Devin Fletcher, who was the Chief Equity and Talent officer with the district.

Fletcher joined TPS in 2016, tasked with the oversight of the district’s curriculum, instruction, and school improvement initiatives.

The board also discussed the investigation regarding payments made to district employees, by a third party called “Snicklebox.”

News On 6 did some checking and found that TPS approved a contract with that company, in June of last year.

Superintendent Deborah Gist said "Snicklebox" provided services related to the talent management of the office, helping with things such as recruitment, hiring and hiring practices.

The district said after discovering the discrepancies, it no longer uses services from that company.

Superintendent Deborah Gist said the district discovered it was missing less than 20,000 dollars in funds and the investigation is still ongoing.

Governor Kevin Stitt said he also wants the state auditor to determine how the district spent $200 million in COVID money.

"TPS also stayed closed the longest, over 300 consecutive days. Board members, parents, students, and teachers deserve to know how that money was spent," said Governor Kevin Stitt.

“We welcome anyone who would like to come and take a look at the work that we do. I have complete confidence in our management of funds. I do think it’s important for Tulsans to know that a cost of such an audit is born by the local community," said Gist.

Gist said the Tulsa Police Department is now investigating the mismanagement of the nearly $20,000.

She also called for an internal audit to discover how this could have happened.