The State Auditor’s pursuit of records to account for at least $69 million spent by Epic Charter School’s management company is headed to trial Dec. 16.
The date was set today by Oklahoma County District Judge Natalie Mai, who also ruled that the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board, which oversees Epic’s virtual school, can weigh in on the case with an amicus brief. A similar request by Rose State College, which oversees Epic’s blended school, was denied.
A pair of OSBI search warrants filed last summer raised allegations of financial mismanagement and "ghost students" at the school, the state's largest virtual charter school. Epic denies wrongdoing. 2/8 https://t.co/S88ITTcG4z
— Jennifer Palmer (@jpalmerOKC) September 8, 2020
Epic Youth Services refused to comply with the auditor's subpoenas. The attorney general's office, representing the state auditor, asked a judge to force Epic Youth Services to turn over the information. That was in March. 4/8
— Jennifer Palmer (@jpalmerOKC) September 8, 2020
The State Chamber and Rose State College asked to weigh in on the case via an amicus brief but were denied. The judge, however, ruled today she will allow the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board to file one. 6/8
— Jennifer Palmer (@jpalmerOKC) September 8, 2020
Meanwhile, enrollment at @EpicCharter in Oklahoma continues to rise. The school says more than 40,000 students have enrolled for the 2020-21 school year, which started today. It's likely to surpass OKCPS as the state's largest school district. 8/8
— Jennifer Palmer (@jpalmerOKC) September 8, 2020
Jennifer Palmer has been a reporter with Oklahoma Watch since 2016 and covers education. Contact her at (405) 761-0093 or jpalmer@oklahomawatch.org. Follow her on Twitter @jpalmerOKC
MORE FROM OKLAHOMA WATCH
Epic Co-Founders, Former CFO Arrested on Embezzlement, Racketeering Charges
A 52-page affidavit details a complicated, criminal enterprise devised by Epic Charter Schools’ co-founders David Chaney and Ben Harris, and former CFO Josh Brock. The three were arrested and booked into the Oklahoma County Detention Center Thursday.
The Effort to Build a New Oklahoma County Jail is a Decade in the Making
While Oklahoma County commissioners have long considered building a new jail facility, this marks the first time the issue has advanced to the election ballot.
Long Story Short: Assessing Oklahoma’s ACT Scores and Education Relief Spending
Jennifer Palmer reports on statewide ACT scores and how schools are spending COVID relief money. Keaton Ross discusses his story about the Oklahoma Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency’s report on the problems they found in state prisons and the Department of Corrections.
