Two virtual education officials disqualified from voting on Epic Charter Schools have been reinstated.
The Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board agreed on Tuesday to restore board members Mathew Hamrick and Phyllis Shepherd to discussions and votes on Epic.
Hamrick and Shepherd had been barred from voting on Epic since December because of their ties to the virtual system s co-founder David Chaney.
The remaining non-recused board members Chairperson Robert Franklin and members Barry Beauchamp and Brandon Tatum agreed to reinstate Hamrick and Shepherd now that Epic has severed its relationship with Chaney and co-founder Ben Harris.
Hamrick filed a lawsuit in April to challenge his disqualification, alleging violations of administrative procedure and the Oklahoma Open Meetings Act. He is expected to drop the lawsuit in Oklahoma County District Court.
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.