AG Drummond issues letter on emergency inhaler purchase delay

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond issued a letter of counsel on Wednesday that addressed the Oklahoma State Department of Education's year-long delay in purchasing emergency inhalers for public schools.

OSDE was given $250,000 on July 1, 2023, as part of a bill signed in 2019 to provide emergency inhalers to public schools to prevent deadly asthma attacks. However, the money still has not been used to purchase the inhalers

On August 12, State Superintendent Ryan Walters requested an opinion from the AG's Office on the following questions:

• What procurement options exist to satisfy the 2023 legislative line-item appropriation of $250,000.00 for “inhalers for all schools?”
• May the OSDE award the $250,000 to the McLarty Foundation as a sole source supplier for the purchase of the inhalers?
• Must the OSDE pay for emergency inhalers before or after the goods or services have been received?

According to the AG's Office, OSDE then announced days after requesting the opinion that school districts would be required to buy the inhalers then request reimbursement from the department, instead of the department buying the inhalers with the designated funding at a potential bulk rate.

Drummond states in the letter that OSDE must consult with the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services on how to go about purchasing the inhalers, but also emphasizes that it must be done as soon as possible.

“But regardless of the method, speed is of the essence,” Drummond says in the letter to OSDE. “Waiting more than a year to ask for guidance, changing procurement methods multiple times, and now requiring school districts to individually procure emergency inhalers is neither speedy nor responsible. Candidly, failing to implement legislative directives and installing roadblocks to potentially life-saving medicines at the expense of kids reflects a lack of understanding of basic purchasing procedures, at a minimum, and perhaps a disingenuous unwillingness to act.”

The full letter can be read here.