`Unique situation' causes annexation of school
In a dilemma that confounded state officials, a southeast Oklahoma school district has lost its accreditation.
The Oklahoma State Board of Education voted to annex Swink Public Schools after members learned the district's bank account was significantly low and the school had no governing board, superintendent or principal.
Gov. Kevin St it t' s office called the decision a “unique situation .” State schools Superintendent Joy Hofmeister said Swink was caught in a predicament that “would require legislative change.”
The state board voted Thursday to revoke accreditation and incorporate Swink into a nearby district in Fort Tow son. Swink served an average of 140 students each year in a school district near the Texas border.
Two of the three Swink School Board members resigned last month, preventing the district from approving budgets, making purchases and hiring personnel.
The district's superintendent, principal, treasurer and clerk also resigned. Only five of 11 teachers are left, some of whom are part time.
The only remaining board member, Lewis Collins, blamed former S wink Superintendent Craig Wall for causing the school to close.
Collins said Wall coordinated the two other board members' resignations, thereby crippling the governing authority over the school district.
“It was a move to destroy us,” Collins said. “This has been a scam to destroy Swink school.”
Wall did not return a request for comment.
In an emotional appeal to the state board, Collins said Wall wanted to annex the district into Valliant Public Schools, where Wall also serves as superintendent.
All of the resources and academic success in Swink would have carried over into Valliant, which Collins said is known to have worse schools.
Both Swink and Valli ant received similar “C” grades on their annual state report cards last year. Valli ant is about 8 miles east of Swink in a different county.
Swink citizens overwhelmingly struck down a proposal to annex the school into Valliant in a vote this year.
“Swink is the best school in Choctaw County,” Collins said during the state board meeting. “You've got people that got mad about an election and decided to shut the school down.”
Bank statements show Swink had one of the most depleted accounts among school districts in Oklahoma, said state department General Counsel Brad Clark. The district had only $151,265 in its operating budget as of last month.
Collins told state board members that the bank statements provided to them were “all fabricated.”
He said Wall mixed bond money with the district's general fund account right before he resigned, though bond dollars and the general fund must be used separately.
Along with lacking funds, state staff recommended the board annex Swink because of vacancies across several critical positions. With no superintendent, principal, treasurer or clerk, S wink lacked the basic structure to operate as a school district, Clark said.
Hofmeister acknowledged these vacancies could have been resolved if the district had one more school board member to establish a majority on the three-person board. With a majority of a board present, two members could start hiring back personnel.
But, Hofmeister said neither she nor the state board have the authority to appoint a local school board member. The state Department of Education learned even Stitt doesn't have this authority, she said.
H of meister said the Oklahoma Legislature would have to pass new laws to allow state officials to make a local appointment.
“This is a school that has been shining in Choctaw County,” she said. “It is not pleasant. It is not something that I hope ever happens again.”
Baylee Lakey, Stitt's communications director, said the governor' s legal team consulted with official sat the Department of Education before the board's vote.
“The clearest path for this unique event was for the state school board and state superintendent to address the matter,” Lakey said. “The governor supports the state school board' s decision to bring 147 students officially under the leadership of Fort Towson in Choctaw County.”
Swink students will likely continue going to school in the same building as before, Clark said. Fort Towson would take over operation of the facility.
In a statement to The Oklahoman, Collins said Swink' s annexation was a government failure.
“Government has failed the people of( southeast) Oklahoma,” Collins wrote. “When the state superintendent can destroy a school based on false information with no investigation to get the truth and when the governor campaigns that he will be a governor for all the people and turns a deaf ear to the cries of the people in (southeast) Oklahoma.”