Board records superintendent's admission of an unauthorized $500,000 loan

What happened

At the June 1, 2026 meeting the board rejected the minutes of its May 11 special meeting and voted to amend them. The amended record states that the district's independent auditors warned of a roughly $400,000 budget shortfall, and that Superintendent Steven Cantrell verbally admitted taking out an unauthorized $500,000 principal payoff loan from BancFirst on May 6, 2026 without board approval.

Why it matters to families

School boards, not superintendents, are supposed to approve borrowing. A loan taken without that vote means money was committed on the district's behalf outside the public process, and it has to be repaid out of the same general fund that pays teachers and runs classrooms.

The evidence

The approved June 1, 2026 minutes record the motion to reject and amend the May 11 minutes 'to reflect the warnings from the school district's independent authority regarding the district's four hundred thousand dollar budget shortfall' and that 'Dr. Cantrell verbally admitted to executing an unauthorized five hundred thousand dollar principal pay off loan to BancFirst on May 6, 2026.' The motion carried with all five members voting aye.

The source