Better oversight by Charter Sponsors by making them liable for returning to the state the (3-5%) administrative fee if the public funds are found to be spent inappropriately.A call to the school’s governing board, Community Strategies, to immediately change its method of operating to provide for greater accountability and transparency.Disclosure and acknowledgement that any funds provided for the education of students – including the Student Learning Fund – are public funds and (are) easily reviewed and reconciled.A request that the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency conduct an evaluation of the school and report its findings.The report also made ten recommendations. In its report, the grand jury listed 10 areas of concern about the school, including a lack of oversight, lack of transparency in operation and a lack of accountability by the for-profit company Epic Youth Services. By failing to provide appropriate oversight, the entities responsible have allowed significant public funds to be diverted into private accounts without transparency,” the report said. “These concerns are focused specifically on the appropriate use of the substantial amount of public funds which have, and continue to be, flowing through the Epic Charter Schools. The grand jury said it was concerned by the amount of money flowing to Epic and what it viewed as a lack of oversight and transparency. We will continue to fully cooperate in sharing any information we have with the grand jury.” “The school itself has fully cooperated in providing public records. “Epic Youth Services (is) no longer operationally or financially managing or controlling the school,” Hickman said in a media statement. School spokesman, Shelly Hickman, said Epic’s board has made significant corrective actions to its operation since October 2020. The grand jury began its study of Epic last December after Attorney General Mike Hunter named a special council in his office to review an audit report released by state Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd.Įpic officials said Byrd’s audit was flawed and had numerous errors. The grand jury said it would continue its review of Epic because of a “lack of transparency in the account for funds, intentional avoidance of disclosure of information by a private entity and a lack of cooperation.”

The grand jury returned no criminal indictments but added that it would reconvene in June and continue “summoning of additional witnesses and (the) gathering of additional physical evidence.” That agreement was finalized by a vote by a unanimous vote by SVCSB on April 27.

The recommendations, detailed in a 26-page report, included many changes already made by the school in its settlement with the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board. OKLAHOMA CITY – A multicounty grand jury issued an interim report Thursday, which called for major changes in the management and oversight of Epic Charter Schools and the nonprofit that oversees the school. EDITOR’S NOTE: The Epic News Network is a statewide journalism program for students of Epic Charter Schools and is funded and supported by Epic Charter Schools.

Epic charter school records request