In 2015, Tulsa Public School District – which is responsible for the education of more than 33,000 children in 78 schools and has more than 5,000 employees – was failing.
Fewer than 47% of its students in K-10th grade “met the reading threshold and less than 37% met the math threshold,” a comprehensive state audit reports. The 2015 graduation rate “stood at 67%” – barely over two-thirds – and TPS “had lost 20% of its teachers over each of the previous five years,” records reflect.
In June that year, the TPS school board hired Dr. Deborah Gist as their new superintendent.
During her eight-year reign, TPS implemented a five-year strategic plan called “Destination Excellence” (2016-20) and she hired at least 33 new administrators during her tenure. TPS also “ushered in a new era focused on the core values of Equity, Character, Excellence, Team, and Joy,” the State Auditor & Inspector’s (SA&I) office related.
“Their goal was to transform TPS into one of the nation’s top-performing urban school districts by implementing a theory of change through five key strategies.” Desired outcomes included better reading and math scores, higher engagement, and high school graduates “ready for college and careers.”
TPS focused on making policy, talent, and systems decisions that were “grounded in and guided by their leading core value of equity.” National consultants were brought in to develop the “Tulsa Way for Teaching and Learning” and to train the school board, the administration, principals and teachers in equity-based practices.
Subsequently the SA&I’s office was directed by Gov. Kevin Stitt to investigate a “series of troubling events” that allegedly were occurring in the district.
The SA&I staff reviewed more than $37.7 million in expenditures in 2015-23. The assessment included an evaluation of TPS’ internal controls, oversight of public funds, and adherence to board policies and statutory requirements.
The staff examined more than 900 transactions and more than 90 vendors – and discovered more than 1,400 “discrepancies,” State Auditor & Inspector Cindy Byrd announced. TPS “issued payments where invoices were paid without proper support or proof of services, and invoices lacked sufficient itemized details.”
The forensic audit discovered that Tulsa Public Schools and the Foundation for Tulsa Schools were defrauded of $824,503 through “various transactions and schemes instigated by Chief Talent and Learning Officer Devin Darel Fletcher.
Consultants, contracts ‘were part of the fraud’ Consultants and consulting contracts were “part of the fraud perpetrated” by Fletcher, state auditors found.
As an illustration, as part of Destination Excellence, TPS collaborated with the YMCA and the Tulsa Community Foundation (TCF) to establish an out-of-school time program, using state, federal and grant funds.
TCF became the supporting organization that formed The Opportunity Project, a subdivision of the Tulsa Community Foundation for handling out-of-school programs for Tulsa Public Schools.
The Wallace Foundation, a New York-based philanthropic organization advancing the arts, education leadership, and youth development, awarded TPS and the YMCA $50,000 each to create a Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) implementation proposal. TPS grant records define SEL as the process via which children and adults “acquire and effectively apply knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions.”
Since the YMCA was a program provider, TPS sought to create an intermediary organization, so it contracted with consultant Patrick Duhon. Duhon received consulting fees that totaled $75,592 between March and August 2017 to help launch the SEL initiative.
Duhon played a role in fostering partnerships with key entities such as the State Department of Education, the City of Tulsa, the Tulsa Regional Chamber of Commerce, and numerous out-ofschool time providers. “This collaboration was supported through the financial back provided by The Wallace Foundation and TPS,” the SA&I staff learned.
Each year the grants increased, assisting TPS in moving the SEL initiative forward. Between 2016 and 2022, The Wallace Foundation awarded TPS and their community intermediaries $8,865,878.
State auditors noted that an Action Plan dated April 2017 listed vendors slated to provide professional development; two of those vendors apparently were selected before the school board approved the services. The Action Plan “reflects behaviors auditors noted where TPS would select or predetermine consultant work before it could be authorized by the board.”
Although the Wallace grant launched the SEL initiative, TPS made “significant financial investments collaborating with vendors, including The New Teacher Center, CT3 (Eduservice), National Equity Project, Yale University, Harvard University, the University of Oklahoma, and the Collaboration for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL).
The Wallace Foundation required TPS to use specific vendors to assist in implementing SEL practices, and CASEL was among those vendors, state auditors reported.
Between February 2017 and February 2024, TPS paid CASEL $594,526 for training and consultation services, records reflect. CASEL “is rooted in concepts about supporting the ‘whole child’ and focusing on social development,” auditors reported.
TPS employees that state auditors interviewed during fieldwork “admitted consultants were so embedded in the organization, they did not even know they weren’t employees.”
Opportunity Project employees “also appeared to be intertwined with TPS staff,” auditors found, “making it difficult to determine if they were meeting all of their contractual obligations or if TPS employees performed services that were fundamentally assigned to the consultants.”
The Opportunity Project operates as a component fund of the Tulsa Community Foundation, which was organized as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) in June 1999.
TPS funded 91% of program expenses The Opportunity Project provided information but did not provide Tulsa Community Foundation expenditure/revenue records,” auditors wrote. “This limited the ability to perform a comprehensive evaluation of all transactions between the related parties and Tulsa Public Schools.”
To ascertain the “viability of The Opportunity Project as a community intermediary,” the program expenses and revenue were compared for 2022-23, auditors related. That
Turn to TULSA, p3 year was selected “because SA&I had the most comprehensive data available for review.”
Auditors determined that during the 2022-23 school year The Opportunity Project reported actual program costs of $2.4 million, excluding administrative costs estimated at $920,210.
Tulsa Public Schools funded 91% of the program costs, including administrative salaries and benefits of The Opportunity Project’s staff, state auditors discovered.
“The results were concerning,” SA&I staff wrote. “It appears TPS was the primary source of funding for The Opportunity Project, and administrative overhead appeared excessive for the services provided.”
That issue, combined with “the lack of detail in invoicing and contracts between the two entities,” prompted additional review. The Tulsa school district had two full-year contracts with The Opportunity Project – and both years “the administrative costs were between 33% and 31% of the total contract amount,” the audit revealed.
And not only were the administrative costs excessive, “they were not itemized on contracts or invoices. This limits transparency…” Devin D. Fletcher convicted by feds After TPS conducted an internal investigation, Devin Darel Fletcher departed in June 2022; whether he was fired or resigned is unclear. TPS reported the embezzlement to the Tulsa Police Department, which lateraled the investigation to the FBI in August 2022.
The Tulsa District U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a complaint against Fletcher in September 2023, and in November 2023 he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. No criminal charges were filed against any of his several accomplices, Byrd noted.
Fletcher was sentenced to two and a half years in federal prison and was ordered to pay $593,492 in restitution: $84,401 to Tulsa Public Schools, $225,000 to the Foundation for Tulsa Schools, and $284,091 to Travelers Casualty and Surety Company. He forfeited $216,106 in U.S. currency as part of the plea agreement.
Although the plea agreement included a monetary judgment not to exceed $603,992 embezzled from TPS and the philanthropic Foundation for Tulsa Schools, SA&I’s investigation determined that the total amount stolen was $824,503, an amount that was finalized after Fletcher was prosecuted.