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This is worse than a kangaroo court. And politicians are collecting campaign cash from folks who've been scamming the system for decades!
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What a waste of state resources! Auditor Byrd just repeats her unsubstantiated claims publicly, yet still hasn't released her claimed evidence to back it up.
Disgusting that the House Committee didn't first demand the evidence! The Auditor is supposed to already have collected and analyzed all evidence & sought full response from the institution BEFORE making public accusations. By denying her accused the very fundamental evidence that her accusations are based upon, she's silenced them from an accurate & informed defense against the 8-figure fraud charges. And she has full control over the narrative an media discourse. The legislature is doing her bidding by their providing her a platform of taxpayer-funded forums of gratuitous charges. |
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This is a very troubling statement from a person trusted to be an honest and non-prejudiced investigator of state institutions. Byrd is clearly fighting to maintain the trust of Oklahomans after she was caught in several gaffs in this audit. It's her first high-profile performance of her new role as state auditor. She's now characterizing the Epic school district as turning everything over to a private sector organization. That's simply not true. Just as the other nearly 600 school districts award tens of thousands of contracts to suppliers & service providers, Epic does, similar structuring. But the roles are clearly separated and key leadership offices are still conducted by the school district. Almost every school district hires outside accounting, banking, and infrastructure providers. Byrd assumes that is an inherently corrupt structure. She'd be hard pressed to name one school district that doesn't hire local Heat & Air companies when the classroom air conditioning fails in late August.
By contracting out, the school district has enhanced legal recourse when services are not rendered according to the written agreement. With employees, the district is limited to the one option of termination of employment. And even that recourse is then subject to the employee's appeal and an expensive hearing. These are the prejudices of a career state bureaucrat and Cindy Byrd is exhibiting that bureaucratic mindset.
By contracting out, the school district has enhanced legal recourse when services are not rendered according to the written agreement. With employees, the district is limited to the one option of termination of employment. And even that recourse is then subject to the employee's appeal and an expensive hearing. These are the prejudices of a career state bureaucrat and Cindy Byrd is exhibiting that bureaucratic mindset.
