OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters said Wednesday his agency is working to see if several teachers who were improperly awarded bonuses of up to $50,000 can keep them after he faced bipartisan criticism over attempts to recover the money.
During a press conference, Walters said the Oklahoma Department of Education is working closely with the federal government to ensure there is no clawback of the bonuses as long as all federal requirements are met.
“We have been in close contact with the feds throughout this entire project,” Walters said of the program that used federal funds to offer bonuses to new teachers who agreed to work for five years in hard-to-fill jobs like special education and early elementary.
“They’ve been kept in the loop of what we’re doing with these teachers so they don’t have to pay the funds back, but that there’s also accountability around the money,” he said.
Walters came under fire after reports that several teachers who were awarded the bonuses were being told they had to repay the funds by the end of February because it was determined they didn’t meet all of the qualifications. At least two teachers were told they didn’t qualify because they worked for a public school the previous year, although both said they indicated that on their applications.