District covers budget gap with $425,000 in anonymous donations and a second emergency appropriation

What happened

On June 18, 2026 the board accepted two anonymous donations to the general fund, $400,000 and $25,000, and approved a supplemental appropriation on state Form 307. It was the second Form 307 filed within about a month, after one on May 11. Vice President Courtney Gagan asked that the record show this pattern and called for an immediate independent state audit by the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

Why it matters to families

A Form 307 supplemental appropriation is what a district files when it needs to spend more than its approved budget allows. Two in one month, plus $425,000 in private money arriving to keep the general fund whole, means the district's regular income was not covering its bills. The general fund is what pays staff salaries, so a gap there reaches classrooms.

The evidence

The approved June 18, 2026 minutes record acceptance of both anonymous general fund donations ($25,000 and $400,000) and approval of the Form 307 supplemental appropriation prepared by Patten & Odom CPAs, together with Gagan's statement that 'two form 307 supplemental appropriations have been requested / will be filed within a single month' and that this is 'a sign of severe structural financial distress.'

The source