Oklahoman
A member of the state agency overseeing virtual education is suing that same agency to overturn his disqualification from discussions and votes on Epic Charter Schools.
Mathew Hamrick filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board in Oklahoma County District Court.
Hamrick, of Oklahoma City, is a member and former chairperson of the board. He is also the chief procurement officer for the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
Current Chairperson Robert Franklin and members Barry Beauchamp and Brandon Tatum voted Dec. 8 to recuse Hamrick from all discussions and votes on any matter related to Epic One-on-One Charter School because of his connections with Epic co-founder David Chaney.
Board addresses Epic’s finances By: Jennifer Palmer Oklahoma Watch April 15, 2021
An Epic Charter School administrative office building is seen on 122nd Street in northwest Oklahoma City. (Photo by Whitney Bryen/Oklahoma Watch)
The board of the state’s largest online charter school system approved a new deal it hopes will settle a contract dispute with the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board.
The proposal, approved after a nearly seven-hour board meeting that concluded after midnight Tuesday, would make significant changes to the school’s financial procedures and relationship with its for-profit management company.
It’s intended to address issues raised by the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board, which on Oct. 13 voted to begin terminating the contract with the nonprofit Community Strategies Inc. to operate Epic One on One, its statewide virtual school. Community Strategies also contracts with Rose State College to operate a second charter school, E
Oklahoman
After a year of legal battles and attempted audits, Epic Charter Schools’ controversial Learning Fund will become public record.
However, Learning Fund records from previous years won t be included in the change.
The Learning Fund is a bank account that pays $800 to $1,000 for every Epic student for extracurricular activities, education technology and additional curricula. It accrued $79.3 million from 2014-2020.
State investigators have said the Learning Fund is a hotbed of potential embezzlement and misuse of taxpayer dollars. Epic refutes these allegations.
Rather than Epic schools making payments from the Learning Fund, the bank account belongs to a for-profit company managing the virtual charter school system.
Oklahoman
Reconvening after midnight from two hours in a closed-door meeting, the school board of Epic Charter Schools approved a settlement proposal that might prevent a crucial termination hearing with a state agency next month.
The Community Strategies Inc. Board, the governing board over Epic, met into the early hours of Wednesday morning over Zoom after starting its virtual meetings at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
It spent two hours in a private executive session and returned with a drafted settlement in hand. All five members approved the proposed agreement without reading aloud any details.
Board Chairperson Doug Scott said he would not read the lengthy agreement because of the late hour. He said the full document would be available to the public Wednesday morning.
Epic One-on-One termination hearing reset for next month
Oklahoman
A termination hearing threatening Epic Charter Schools largest branch has been reset for two days next month despite objections from attorneys on both sides of the case.
The Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board scheduled a hearing for May 12-13 to hear evidence on alleged contract violations by Epic One-on-One. The board originally planned for four days of proceedings but has twice postponed the hearing.
Epic s attorney, Bill Hickman, and the attorney prosecuting the case, Assistant Attorney General Marie Schuble, agreed two days won t be sufficient to present their evidence and testimony.