Oklahoma’s Education Department faces another lawsuit challenging the distribution of motor vehicle tax funds to some school districts.
Five school districts allege in a lawsuit that the Oklahoma State Department of Education shortchanged their state funding by hundreds of thousands of dollars because of a miscalculation based on payments from a previous lawsuit.
The new lawsuit was filed Friday in Oklahoma County District Court on behalf of Midwest City-Del City Public Schools, Ponca City Public Schools, Muskogee Public Schools, Quapaw Public Schools and Lone Wolf Public Schools according to a report by the Tulsa World.
The districts contend that the state agency miscalculated their allocation of motor vehicle tax revenue by a total of $237,148 in May. They argue that they will lose an additional $2.85 million in fiscal year 2021 if the error continues. Fiscal year 2021 begins July 1.
“The OSDE looks forward to responding in court, but will remain focused on students, families and the professionals working in support of them in our public schools,” department general counsel Brad Clark said in a statement.
Source: Tulsa World