The school board didn’t consider any other management companies, a “system ripe for fraud,” it wrote. The grand jury took issue with the school’s relationship to Epic Youth Services, the for-profit management company owned by the schools’ co-founders David Chaney and Ben Harris. Auditors, too, cited lack of cooperation and are still attempting to get some information through a court order. The report cited Epic’s lack of transparency, intentional avoidance of disclosure by its for-profit management company and a lack of cooperation as a difficulty in completing the investigation. The grand jury will resume its investigation of Epic when it meets June 1-3. They were critical of the lack of oversight from the state Department of Education, the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board (which authorizes Epic One-on-One), Rose State College (which authorizes Epic Blended), Community Strategies (Epic’s nonprofit school board), and the Legislature. In the report, the grand jury says the public expects more from the entities responsible for overseeing Epic. We will continue to fully cooperate in sharing any information we have with the grand jury,” she wrote. The school itself has fully cooperated in providing public records. “Epic’s Board of Education has since October 2020 made significant corrective actions, including Epic Youth Services no longer operationally or financially managing or controlling the school. Shelly Hickman, assistant superintendent for Epic, reiterated that in an emailed statement sent Thursday. Please reload the page and try again.Įpic has implemented a number of changes based on the auditor’s findings and recently reached a settlement with the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board by agreeing to additional concessions. Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Grand Jury: Epic Charter School 'system ripe for fraud' - Oklahoma Watch Close
0 kommentar(er)
