Page 4 - Learning Fund News Today

Epic Charter Schools ends contract with management company May 27, 2021 FacebookTwitterEmail TULSA, Okla. (AP) — The governing board of a virtual charter school that has grown to become the largest public school in Oklahoma voted to end its contract with the for-profit school management company owned by its co-founders. Epic Charter Schools seven-member board of education unanimously approved a mutual termination agreement Wednesday, declaring its independence from Epic Youth Service, effecti...

The Enid News and Eagle /The Enid News and Eagle Shown is Cindy Byrd, state auditor and inspector. In an October report, the state auditor argued that Epic Youth Services was more than just a vendor because the founders made decisions about the school’s operations without board approval. Ben Felder / The Frontier During his first meeting with state audit inspectors in October 2019, Ben Harris, the co-founder of the sta...

Oklahoma virtual charter school board could reinstate member blocked from Epic votes Nuria Martinez-Keel, Oklahoman © Photo provided Hamrick A state official who lost his vote over Epic Charter Schools because of a perceived conflict of interest is on the brink of having his recusal overturned.  Mathew Hamrick sued the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board and the board’s executive director on April 13 to regain voting power on Epic-related matters.   He�...

Oklahoman A state official who lost his vote over Epic Charter Schools because of a perceived conflict of interest is on the brink of having his recusal overturned.  Mathew Hamrick sued the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board and the board’s executive director on April 13 to regain voting power on Epic-related matters.   He and board member Phyllis Shepherd were disqualified Dec. 8 from all discussions and votes on Epic because of ties to Epic co-founder David Chan...

Stories Creativity in Children and Organizations: The Predictors Are the Same Five-year-old Faisal wishes he could fly. He likes to pretend he’s a superhero and build forts with his brother where they live in Za’atari camp for Syrian refugees, Jordan. Photo credit: Jordi Matas / Save the Children Creativity in Children and Organizations: The Predictors Are the Same Written by Helen Moestue and Charley Allegar What are the three key predictors that cultivate creativity in both chi...

The OSBI in 2019 court records accused Epic of illegally inflating student enrollment counts with children who received little to no education from the virtual charter school. Investigators alleged Chaney and Harris pocketed millions of taxpayer dollars after funneling school funds to Epic Youth Services. Epic, Chaney and Harris have denied any illegal activity. No one has been charged with any crimes in the investigation. The grand jury has been hearing testimony and reviewing evidence on...

By: Barry Mangold Oklahoma state regulators overseeing Epic One-on-One Charter School voted on Monday to approve a settlement agreement with the district and to cancel an upcoming termination hearing.  The vote ends a roughly seven-month-long saga between the district and its authorizer, the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board. The board threatened Epic with termination after a blistering report by the Oklahoma State Auditor & Inspector in October.  “Today’s vote moves us forward,” s...

Oklahoman A final settlement has been approved between Epic Charter Schools and its state oversight agency, closing a "turbulent" period for Oklahomas largest school system. The Community Strategies Inc. Board, the school board governing Epic, agreed Wednesday night to a settlement proposed the day before by the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board. The statewide board must vote once more to finalize the agreement. The settlement would conclude termination proceedings that threa...

By: Cal Day The Oklahoma State Virtual Charter School Board will meet on Tuesday to discuss a potential settlement with Epic Charter Schools. In the proposed agreement, Epic would make purchasing records of the controversial Learning Fund public. Just last week, the Epic Charter School Board spent close to seven hours discussing the settlement and changes it is going to make in the future in order to run by state standards. The fund is maintained by Epic Youth Services, a private company that m...

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 wont 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 i...