![]() The motion to begin the administrative process passed on a 3-1 vote. ![]() He added that the administrative process will allow issues to be “aired out and reviewed by both sides.” At the administrative hearing, Schuble said Epic “can present witnesses, evidence, be represented by an attorney, and there’s a chance for them to be able to tell their side of the story.” “The only issue before us today is whether or not we would proceed into a process by which that is one potential outcome.” Harrington, chairman of the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board. “I know there has been some concern that today we would be terminating the contract,” said John D. “You are not voting today on whether or not you think these facts are true.” “Today, I am asking you as the Virtual Charter School Board to review these facts and determine that if these facts were proven true at a hearing, would they constitute violation of the contract?” said Assistant Attorney General Marie Schuble, who serves as the board’s legal counsel. ![]() Officials stressed that the vote only begins the review process and does not automatically mean Epic’s charter will be revoked. The administrative process was launched in response to a critical state audit. Donate online.Members of the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board voted Tuesday to begin a months-long administrative process that could potentially result in termination of the board’s contract with Community Strategies, Inc., the governing board for Epic One-on-One Charter School. StateImpact Oklahoma is a partnership of Oklahoma’s public radio stations which relies on contributions from readers and listeners to fulfill its mission of public service to Oklahoma and beyond. Earlier this week, its governing board opened to make the controversial learning fund - which doles out up to $1,000 per student for educational expenses to families - public for the first time. The school has instituted some reforms, though. They remain our focus.”Įpic still hasn’t paid back an $11.2 million clawback to the state and a criminal probe of the school and its founders is ongoing. “Our school and our board are working to bring additional transparency to our operations in the interest of serving our 60,000 kids and their families. “We are in the process of reviewing the assessment,” an Epic spokeswoman told the Tulsa World. The money will be deducted from Epic’s upcoming state funding payments and redistributed to other schools around the state who haven’t been penalized. The school will have to pay a $7.13 million penalty for the virtual school and a $3.37 million penalty for the blended academy for the violations. The district was again penalized for overpaying administrators and misreporting funds. They are also required to keep administrative costs - generally costs outside of actual education - down Virtual charter schools who contract with a management company are required to report actual expenses, rather than estimates as Epic had been doing previously. ![]() The letters were first reported by the Tulsa World newspaper. The accusations are similar to ones made in State Auditor Cindy Byrd’s investigative audit from last year. In a pair of letters to Epic’s One-on-One Charter School and Epic’s Blended Charter School, the district is accused of misreporting how it spends money to the state and overpaying for administrative costs. The sanctions are largely due to accusations by the state of Epic violating a virtual charter school transparency law passed in 2019. Epic Charter School has been hit with more than $10 million in penalties by Oklahoma’s State Department of Education.
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