"When people just run unchecked, & there's no accountability, & there are no repercussions, people just get comfortable & do what they want."

A shocking expose of corruption (on a grand scale), nearly unchecked.

. . . .

"The Oklahoma State Department of Education's takeover of the Western Heights

School District comes after years of relentless pushing and digging by parents who said this could happen to any school if the community doesn't pay attention.

"For all of this, all this hard work, to get to that point, where finally, somebody said, 'we hear you, and we're going to try to help you.' It was just the most amazing feeling," said Amy Boone, a Western Heights parent.

"Boone said about two years ago she realized something wasn't right at her child's school.

"In July 2019, Superintendent Mannix Barnes was hired and paid one of the highest superintendent salaries in Oklahoma.

"A $220,000 base salary with 80 days of paid leave per year, plus other perks in the three-year agreement. That's at least twice the salary of the previous superintendent, Joe Kitchens.

"Barnes had no previous experience in education and became alternatively certified in the months before the superintendent's position opened up.

"Boone said this was a red flag.

"She and other parents did some research and uncovered a long and mutually beneficial relationship between Barnes and district's school board president Robert Everman.

"The two worked together and for each other, served together on several boards and organizations, and were linked politically.

"According to attorneys with Oklahoma State Department of Education, after Barnes' appointment, teachers quit in droves, the district had one of the highest rates of absenteeism in the state, there was financial mismanagement of bond money, and Western Heights was the only district statewide that had no in-person option for the 2020-2021 school year.

"During February's bitter cold and record snow, parents, staff, and community members hit the streets, gathering 1,000 signatures for a citizen's petition asking the state auditor to investigate and report their findings to the state Board of Education.

"In April, the state education board voted unanimously to put the Western Heights School District on probation. This was a move community members hoped would bring a swift end to problems at the school.

"Instead, attorneys representing Western Heights sued the state Board of Education a week later.

"In June, the Western Heights Board of Education voted to continue Barnes' employment in their expected annual review, even though Barnes' contract still had another year left.

"Parents later discovered the new three-year deal that was never on the board's agenda.

A new three-year contract was signed on June 22 by Everman, Barnes, the board clerk Latoya Johnson, and the board attorney Jerry Colclazier.

"The new contract had slight changes, including one critical word.

"Per the terms of the previous contract, if Barnes were to be fired without cause, he would receive severance pay of one year's base salary or for the rest of the contract, whichever is LESSER. In the new contract, the agreement reads whichever is MORE.

"This means if Barnes was terminated in summer 2021, he would be paid more than $700,000.

"The state board suspended Barnes' education credential two days later on an emergency basis.

"A contentious and expensive legal battle ensued over the course of the summer and threatened the opening of school this fall.

"A sprint to repair facilities, inspect buses, hire drivers and teachers, and more took place while Western Heights administrators tried to stop state actions in court, and on campus. Community members found bags of shredded financial documents.

"The Western Heights board appointed their own interim superintendent, who filed an affidavit just weeks before she said she wasn't qualified for the position after Barnes' suspension.

"In purchase orders obtained by News 9 records requests and in information from Western Heights administrators, legal costs charged to the district now total over $350,000 since April.

"But parents prevailed in August. A district judge affirming the state's authority and law enforcement escorted state officials onto campus.

"'When people just run unchecked, and there's no accountability, and there are no repercussions, people just get comfortable and do what they want,' said Boone.

"School board members at Western Heights serve five-year terms. In Oklahoma, there's no way to recall a school board member.

"According to News 9's analysis of voting records, the district's school board seats have decades of uncontested elections with low voter turnout.

"In April 2019, just 67 people voted in the school board election.

"'I mean, schools boards and administrations need to take note,' said Boone."