Oklahoma
LOFT releases report on Oklahoma State Department of Education spending investigation
OKLAHOMA CITY (KSWO) – The Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT) has released their investigative findings on disbursements made by the Oklahoma State Department of Investigation (OSDE).
The LOFT investigation did not find any OSDE actions that warranted a law enforcement criminal investigation, according to the LOFT report.
LOFT began their investigation after both legislators and school districts raised concerns of delays in districts receiving OSDE funds, as well as concerns of changing communications pertaining to funding.
While nothing was found which warranted a criminal investigation, LOFT gave recommendations to both OSDE and the Oklahoma Legislature to make sure a similar investigation is not needed in the future.
According to LOFT, the Legislature should:
- For new programs or legislature mandates, require the State Department of Education to publish an initial plan for implementation within 90 days of the program’s effective date.
- Specify in budget limit bills any funds that have the flexibility to be used by the State Department of Education to fund other specific statutory obligations.
- Clarify whether funding directives for “off formula” school districts apply only to those schools fully off the State Aid Funding formula or if it also applies to those schools partially off the formula.
- Authorize a grantmaking process for circumstances where a non-profit organization is best suited to facilitate a program’s objectives.
According to LOFT, OSDE should:
- Review all new legislation by July 1 of each year to identify an implementation strategy for new programs. The plan should include soliciting feedback from school districts, where appropriate, to identify potential problems with implementation.
- Increase written communications to school districts to include: 1. The total preliminary state allocation from the federal government compared to the prior year, to serve as an indicator of whether schools should anticipate a reduction or an increase. 2. Notification of whether districts should expect to receive per-district preliminary allocations and an anticipated timeline for when final figures will be available.
- Establish written policies and procedures for each division within the agency to ensure continuity of operations in the event of turnover. This should include an annual communication schedule.
- Prior to communicating a plan to districts for implementing a program, ensure alignment of all departments that will be involved in the program.
- Immediately seek written legal guidance when the agency identifies conflicts in statute.
Members of the Oklahoma House Democratic Caucus gave their thoughts in response to the LOFT findings.
“The continued lack of accountability from the Oklahoma State Department of Education further emphasizes the State Superintendent’s willful negligence. This puts our school districts and our kids squarely in second place to his own self interest,” Rep. Melissa Provenzano (D-Tulsa) said. “We have a state agency head unwilling to commit to improving service to schools. We have a state agency head unwilling to share how he plans to spend unused payroll dollars. The repeated calls by the public to ‘Do something about Supt. Ryan Walters,’ continue to go unanswered.”
“The State Superintendent says the Oklahoma State Department of Education’s objective is to ‘shrink government,’ but the objective should be establishing OSDE’s ability to effectively manage a multi-million-dollar state agency for a functional education system,” Rep. Meloyde Blancett (D-Tulsa) said. “I come from a business background, and if you had a CEO whose chief staff could not communicate effectively either internally or externally with primary stakeholders, they would be fired. My question is if OSDE is unable to effectively create a functional working relationship with school districts and the legislature, how can we possibly expect success to happen in schools for our kids?
Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters sent out the below X post in response to the LOFT report.
Complete waste of time and taxpayer dollars. Liberal teachers union lies fall apart. Let’s get back to educating our kids https://t.co/LclDOqg7jO
— Superintendent Ryan Walters (@RyanWaltersSupt) October 29, 2024
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NORMAN — Oklahoma softball’s transfer portal activity may have been fairly slow developing.
But now, as the portal window nears its end, the Sooners have started having success.
Oklahoma added outfielder Adi Hansen, a standout at the College of Southern Idaho for the last two seasons on Thursday.
Hansen’s announcement, made on Instagram, followed shortly after Middle Tennessee outfielder Macie Harter announced her commitment to the Sooners.
Hansen led the Golden Eagles with a .457 batting average in 186 at bats in 2026, with an eye-popping 82 runs scored and a school-record 62 stolen bases on 67 attempts.
Hansen had 17 games with two or more stolen bases this season and twice had four stolen bases in a game.
Hansen had four triples and 21 RBIs, drawing 23 walks.
She earned NJCAA first-team All-America honors, helping her team finish 43-13 with a NJCAA Division I Juco World Series appearance.
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In 2025, as a freshman, Hansen hit .401 with 36 stolen bases and 62 ruyns scored.
Hansen is a Logan, Utah, product.
Hansen and Harter join a group of outfielders that includes Kai Minor in centerfield and Ella Parker in right field.
The Sooners lost Abby Dayton to graduation and Kasidi Pickering to transfer after the season. Pickering will reportedly transfer to Texas Tech.
Oklahoma finished 52-10 last season, missing the Women’s College World Series for the first time since 2015 after falling to Mississippi State in three games in the Norman Super Regional.
The Sooners have a strong incoming recruiting class and return a trio of pitchers — Audrey Lowry, Miali Guachino and Allyssa Parker — as well as experienced hitters Kendall Wells, Gabbie Garcia, Nelly McEnroe-Marinas plus Minor and Ella Parker.
In addition to the departures of Dayton and Pickering, the Sooners also lost pitchers Sydney Berzon and Kierston Deal, first baseman Isabela Emerling, and second baseman Ailana Agbayani to graduation. Outfielder Tia Milloy, pitcher Berkley Zache and utility player Riley Zache also entered the transfer portal.
Oklahoma’s incoming class includes Edmond Santa Fe pitcher Keegan Baker, Lakewood, Calif., infielder Ki’ele Ho-Ching, Mililani, Hawaii, infielder Ori Mailo, Fullerton, Calif., pitcher Malaya Majam-Finch, Katy, Texas, pitcher EK Smith, and Mesa, Ariz., outfilder Payton Westra.
Mailo was with the Sooners this season, redshirting after joining the program a year early.
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OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — Oklahoma City police are investigating an early morning shooting that left one man injured in northeast Oklahoma City.
Around 3 a.m. on Thursday, emergency crews were called to a reported shooting near Kelley and Wilshire Blvd.
Investigators say the shooting occurred between a couple inside the home, adding that the woman shot the man.
However, police say they are trying to determine if the shooting was accidental.
The victim was rushed to the hospital for treatment.
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The woman has been taken into custody for questioning, but it is unknown if she will face charges just yet.
Oklahoma is just three outs away from steamrolling through the right side of the bracket and knocking out Georgia to reach the championship finals.
To prepare, let’s take a look at what arms we should expect for the Sooners just like we did for the North Carolina earlier.
The Sooners have leaned heavily on their freshmen pitching trio in Cord Rager, Xander Mercurius and Nick Wesloski throughout Omaha. The first two went at least seven innings, while Wesloski tossed 5.2 innings on Wednesday. Even though they used relievers LJ Mercurius and Jackson Cleveland in the first two games, neither pitched more than two innings nor allowed a run.
If LJ, who entered for Wesloski on Wednesday, finishes the game, he will have gone 3.1 innings.
That sets up Oklahoma very well to matchup with UNC, which went 3-0 and also hasn’t used many arms up to this point.
If OU does win, expect Rager, Xander Mercurius and Cleveland to be ready to go. Rager, who hasn’t pitched since their first round game against Alabama on Saturday, June 13, would have a full week of rest.
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