“This was a complex scheme that took money from school children.”

Oklahoma State Auditor & Inspector (SA&I) Cindy Byrd Tuesday released the second part of her special audit report for Tulsa Public Schools (TPS). The Governor requested the initial investigation of TPS and approved the continuance of the investigation in response to the findings in the SA&I audit of TPS released last year.

“We found evidence that the TPS Executive Director of Bond and Energy Management, Chris Hudgins, used his position to divert millions of tax dollars to himself and direct contracts to preferred vendors,” Auditor Byrd said. “It appears that for more than ten years, he operated a personal business out of TPS offices on the public’s dime, undermined the bond department’s competitive bidding process, and orchestrated complex financial schemes in cooperation with certain vendors. During that time, he had direct access to and authority over tens of millions of taxpayer dollars.”