Thursday, February 19, 2026 • Windy but cooler with highs in the mid-60s.

🚨 Critical fire risk expands across Oklahoma today, but relief for the weekend is in sight in the form of a cold front.

OKLAHOMA CITY — A special audit of the Oklahoma State Department of Education found no evidence of wrongdoing but identified administrative weaknesses and gaps in oversight during the 2020–21 fiscal year, State Auditor Cindy Byrd announced on Tuesday.

The audit, requested by Gov. Kevin Stitt, concluded that only 0.21% of the roughly $7.6 billion spent annually on public education is available for discretionary spending at SDE, with most funds controlled at the local district level, “which is where any significant fraud, waste, and abuse would likely occur,” Byrd said.

The report raised concerns about the effectiveness of the Oklahoma Cost Accounting System, which relies on self-reported district data and was not designed to detect improper spending or enforce administrative cost caps. It also found that the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability (led by the Secretary of Education) failed to meet regularly or review districts that exceeded administrative spending limits during the audit period.

Additionally, lawmakers directed certain vendor appropriations that bypassed competitive bidding, and the audit noted the absence of a framework to measure outcomes tied to the $11 million Reading Sufficiency Act allocation. Byrd said the issues are fixable and urged lawmakers to strengthen financial oversight and accountability.

👉 Read the full audit: Oklahoma Department of Education Special Audit Report

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A hand-curated list of the best journalism from across the state:

• Wildfires rage across Oklahoma as conditions worsen (KOSU)

• Mustang Public Schools suspends students for ICE walkout, denies allegations of staff involvement (KGOU)

• Kevin Stitt is ‘excited to go’ to the White House dinner he’s been fighting with Trump over (Oklahoma Watch)

• Uranium lingers beneath Oklahoma's soil more than 50 years after Karen Silkwood's warning (KOCO)

• Teens may have to prove they’re literate before receiving Oklahoma driver’s license (Oklahoma Voice)

• Police shooting leads to body discovered in SE Oklahoma City (Oklahoma City Free Press)

• McCloud man faces charges for attempting to murder federal law enforcement (KSWO)

• Arrest made during heated Claremore meeting over proposed data center (News On 6)

• Bethany Middle School employee arrested for using THC pen on campus (News 9)

• Woman claiming to be sovereign citizen arrested by Tonkawa police during traffic stop (Kay News Cow)

• Oklahoma credit card users could soon be paying more (Oklahoma Voice)

• Ash Wednesday: Tulsans visit Trinity Episcopal Church for Ashes to Go (Tulsa World)*

By J.C. Hallman, Oklahoma Watch
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State Farm, it would seem, has no intention of changing its ways.

On Dec. 4, Attorney General Gentner Drummond filed to intervene and bring RICO charges in Hursh v. State Farm, the most public-facing of what was then approximately 200 cases of wrongfully denied claims of hail damage to homes insured by Oklahoma’s largest writer of homeowners insurance.

Eight days later, State Farm did it again, denying the hail claim of a Tulsa woman who has been a loyal State Farm customer for 53 years.

👉 Click here for the full story.

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