Oklahoma’s Attorney General Gentner Drummond has given the nod of approval to the recent court ruling that tossed out what he called a "baseless" lawsuit against ClassWallet, a case initiated by Gov. Kevin Stitt that sought to hold the company culpable for mismanaged educational relief funds, according to a statement from the Oklahoma’s Attorney General Gentner Drummond ’s office. In a no-holds-barred assessment, Drummond spared not the administration under Stitt from blame, citing its rejection of internal controls and failure to leverage the fiscal management tools ClassWallet had made available.
The lawsuit’s failure was met with a judicial dismissal by U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton who identified the suit’s inability to stake a claim for any actionable relief; Drummond had previously pulled the Attorney General's Office from engaging in the lawsuit back in December, after seeing that the claims just didn't hold water legally, as per the Oklahoma’s Attorney General same announcement.
In the complex landscape of audits and financial oversight, the case against ClassWallet started unraveling fast, audits from both the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General (OIG) and State Auditor Cindy Byrd put the onus of responsibility squarely on the shoulders of state actors – revealing a shocking array of seemingly unrelated purchases including video game consoles, home appliances, and even Christmas trees bought with educational relief funds that were supposed to help during the pandemic’s peak.
Judge Heaton’s dismissal laid bare the shortcomings of the governor's legal pursuit, writing, “The complaint is devoid of underlying facts regarding the nature of payments allowable or not allowable under the Bridge of Gap grant program,” and further asserting the State’s allegations, even taken in the best light, failed to paint a credible picture of contract breach based on the program's terms, the entirety of the judge's words captured in the same Oklahoma’s Attorney General's statement. The court's candidness almost reflects the sheer transparency of glass, as the legal theater curtains were drawn, and the murky waters of the state’s handling of educational funds, now out in the open, remains a daunting mirror for the Stitt administration to peer into.
