The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Oklahoma City Public Schools" ...
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Broken Promises
Tax-exempt deals that provided $7 billion in bonds for low-income housing or inner-city schools turned out to be another way for banks and advisers to make money. Bloomberg investigates situations such as a deal in which JPMorgan Chase and Co. and American International Group "pocketed fees, along with their advisers, totaling $12 million." AIG and CDR of Beverly Hills actually had a deal "in which the financial firms made more money and faced less risk if none of the $220 million in bond funds was used by the public. None of it was." There were 70 other such deals across the country in Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, Illinois, Wisconsin and Missouri. The investigation also includes similar situations of schools being neglected while insurance companies, banks and advisers profit.
Tags: school bonds; Wall Street; JPMorgan Chase and Co.; American International Group; Bank of America; housing bonds
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Financial Fiasco at the Oklahoma Public Schools
Public schools in Oklahoma noticed that the maintenance of accounts in the district was in complete disarray. Investigations by The Oklahoman found that the district owed $3 million in overdue bills and had not paid up because they did not know if they had the funds. The investigation also found that the district had spent over $600,000 on a new telephone system only to scrap it a year later.
Tags: Oklahoma City Public Schools; District financial records; public school funding; debts incurred by the district; mismanagement of financial records
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Winners and Losers: School Choice in Urban America
A Daily Oklahoman investigation of Oklahoma City's move to a school choice system revealed that change "has produced a two-tired system: one academically elite, middle-class and disproportionately white; the other struggling, poor and mostly minority." The four-part series outlines the state of Oklahoma City's public school system as well as tells the stories of various choice schools across the country.
Tags: urban America; school choice; Oklahoma City; Oklahoma; education; minority; middle-class; lower class; poor; wealthy; inequality; CAR
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1998 IRE TV Award Winners and Finalists Tape.
The 1998 TV Award Winners and Finalists Tape is a compilation of 12 investigative stories. 1.) "Tomb of the Unknowns," CBS News. A 13-part series that forced the government to face the truth about how it defaced one of the nation's most sacred shrines and denied a grieving mother the truth about her son. See #15332. 2.) "The Deadly Trade in Fake Medicine," CBS News, 60 Minutes. Substandard medicine marketed by a secret network of manufacturers, peddlers make fortunes and regulators have failed to stop this deadly trade. See #15241. 3.) "Abuse of Power." ABC News 20/20. The U.S. military's power to strike back at personnel who are critical. Whistleblowers who expose misconduct, waste, fraud and abuse are told they are mentally ill. See #15282. 4.) "Shell Game." NBC News Dateline. A hidden camera investigation inside a plant that processes 2 million eggs a day, reveals eggs up to a month old, are mixed in with fresh eggs, rewashed, repacked and sold like new. See #15236. 5.) "Doublecross." ABC Primetime. This investigation reveals how the United States government turned a drug smuggler into a top informant and then allowed him to distribute cocaine into the United States. See #15251. 6.) "Fake Doctors, Real Dangers." CBS-2 News, Los Angeles. This series uncovers fake doctors all over Southern California running illegal clinics. See #15259. 7.) "Impact: Forced Sterilization." WXYZ investigates into the sterilization of thousands of men, women and children by the state government in Michigan. See #15373. 8.) "Oath of Silence." WMAQ. This four-month investigation exposes secret malpractice settlements that are costing taxpayers millions of dollars. See #15373. 9.) "Troubled Transit." WTXF, Philadelphia. This three-month investigation of the Septa Public Transit in Philadelphia reveals some of the transit workers are not doing the jobs the taxpayers are paying them to do. See #15221. 10.) "Olympic Bribery Scandal." KTVX. Salt Lake Olympic Organizers have been spending thousands of dollars to pay the college tuition of international Olympic associate's relatives. See # 15201. 11.) "Stadium Investigation." WCPO, Cincinnati. Hamilton County in Cincinnati have spent more than a billion dollars to build and finance a new stadium, promising more business for minorities and women. A five-month investigation uncovers many broken promises. 12.) "Mismanagement 101." KWTV, Oklahoma City. Millions of dollars in overspending, fraud, waste and allegations of cover-up. Example; 50 construction employees were diverted from air conditioning the elementary school to building an all automatic, high-tech bathroom located just outside the superintendent's office. See # 15303.
Tags: TAPE; Vietnam; Freedom of Information Act; FOI; Computer Assisted Reporting; CAR; IRE; no transcripts.
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No title (id: 13404)
Located in what is thought of as a well-to-do suburban area of Oklahoma City, the large 19,000-student Putnam City public school district for decades has built a reputation as one of the best in the state. An investigation by the Oklahoman has found that the district has maintained its image, in part, by living beyond its financial means for more than a decade and has now been transformed from a quiet, suburban school system into a boisterous, diverse, urban district. (May 26 - 29, 1996)
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No title (id: 7315)
Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City) reporters request public records from a local school district only to be threatened with police action if they return to school property; the state attorney general sides with the paper, and reporters uncover falsified payroll records, improperly handled land purchases, school funds used to finance campaigns and fraud within food service and transportation services, May - August 1990.
Tags: None