By: Barry Mangold
OKLAHOMA CITY -
The Statewide Virtual Charter School Board set a termination hearing for the Epic One-on-One Charter School district to review alleged violations of its operating contract.
On Tuesday, the board, which has not met since January, denied Epic’s motion to dismiss the allegations and scheduled the hearing for May 12 and 13.
Marie Schubel, the board’s legal counsel who is prosecuting the district, and Epic attorney Bill Hickman opposed limiting the hearing to only two days because of the wide scope of the allegations and potential witnesses.
“There are 30,000 records I’ve gathered in this case,” said Bill Hickman, attorney for Epic Charter Schools. “I have a high degree of confidence that we will not get this done in two days.”
Changes in school enrollment affect funding amid pandemic
Pandemic impact on school funding
and last updated 2021-02-25 08:39:09-05
TULSA, Okla. â Parents and educators are still settling into the new normal for their students. The pandemic is not only dictating how students are in school, but also bringing significant changes to districts enrollment and funding.
Brooke Rogers sits at the kitchen table with her daughter Nora. This isn t the second-grade experience she expected. Instead of being in a classroom with her friends, she s learning from home online with Epic Charter Schools.
âShe loves it, Rogers said. Sheâs learning so much.â
Dec 21, 2020
State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd speaks at the Enid Rotary Club meeting at Stride Bank Center Ballroom on Monday. (Kelci McKendrick / Enid News & Eagle)Kelci McKendrick | Enid News & Eagle
ENID, Okla. â State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd was the guest speaker at Enid Rotary Clubâs meeting on Monday.
At Stride Bank Center Ballroom, Byrd provided information about what the State Auditor and Inspectorâs Office does, the different types of audits it conducts and how it conducts its business and her audit into Epic Charter Schools.
The State Auditor and Inspectorâs Office was established by the Constitution to be the oversight authority in Oklahoma, and Byrd said it conducts more than 350 audits every year, with approximately 115 employees doing the work.
School finance chiefs from many of the biggest districts in the state are calling on the governor, attorney general and state superintendent to intervene ahead of a looming financial windfall for Epic Charter Schools.
In a letter sent this week, chief financial officers from 14 school districts called on state leaders to see to it that Epicâs upcoming midyear adjustment in state funding be âstayed or modifiedâ until Epicâs student âenrollment numbers and other business practices are verified to be lawful and compliant.â
It was signed by district officials from Tulsa, Ardmore, Bartlesville, Broken Arrow, Enid, Lawton, Moore, Muskogee, Mustang, Norman, Putnam City, Tahlequah, Union and Yukon.