It’s only a handout when the government squanders or gives away money freely and without oversight. When Oklahoma’s incompetent Stitt administration hands the reins to an intermediary software company, it’s touted as a new model of private and public cooperation.
“Other states used federal money to train new teachers or support programs for deaf and blind students. But in Oklahoma, a history teacher with political ambitions helped a Florida tech company win a no-bid state contract to rapidly distribute $8 million to families with little government oversight. Another $10 million went to private school vouchers. With few guardrails, some families used Oklahoma’s share of federal Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Funds to buy Christmas trees, gaming consoles, electric fireplaces and outdoor grills, an investigation by Oklahoma Watch and The Frontier has found.”
While apparently most of the money did go towards education-related purchases, the investigation also found “at least 548 TVs purchased through ClassWallet worth $191,000. Families also bought pressure washers, car stereo equipment, coffee makers, exercise gear and smart watches.”
At the risk of sounding like a broken record issue after issue in Chicken Fried News, Kevin is shocked, shocked we tell you, that such a thing ever occurred, especially under his watchful eye.
“During the COVID pandemic, Governor Stitt had a duty to get federal relief funds to students and families in Oklahoma as quickly as possible and he accomplished just that,” Stitt’s information minister Carly Atchison wrote in a statement.
And it should be no surprise that star substitute teacher Ryan Walters was behind it all.
“Even before Stitt named Walters Secretary of Education in September 2020, Walters had worked to secure the contract with ClassWallet, according to emails obtained by Oklahoma Watch and The Frontier.”
When Kevin announced his plans to run the state government like a business, voters should have anticipated that it would be as poorly managed as his own company (that’s what you get for favoring him over tried-and-true former OKC Mayor Mick Cornett). Guess you get what you pay for. Or at least what the government pays for anyway.
