12/12/2019 Education

EPIC continues to grow, possibly 3rd largest public school system

OKLAHOMA CITY — EPIC Charter Schools has a record number of students for the current 2019-2020
school year and says it anticipates to be the state’s third largest public school system in Oklahoma when the
State Department of Education soon announces enrollment for all Oklahoma school districts.

The Oklahoma-based virtual charter school reported its Oct. 1 enrollment was 28,070 students. By comparison,
Oct. 1 enrollment for EPIC the previous school year was 21,305 students. However, EPIC ended the 2018-2019
school year with more than 24,000 students, climbing by more than 3,000 students during the course of the
school year.

October 1 enrollment is typically the date the Oklahoma Department of Education reports for all school districts
to determine school year enrollment for each school district.

“EPIC’s growth shows the support that exists across the state for public school options for Oklahoma families
and students,” said Bart Banfield, superintendent for EPIC Charter Schools. “We serve students in all 77
counties and believe our model is popular with families because we individualize education to meet the unique
needs of each student. One size does not fit all when it comes to children, teaching and learning.”

EPIC’s enrollment growth suggests midterm funding, which soon will be announced by the state, will likely be
proportionally higher than midterm funding for many traditional school districts. This is because charter schools
are initially funded based on the number of students enrolled as of Aug. 1, whereas funding for traditional
school districts is determined by the highest enrollment number shown for the last three years, regardless of the
district’s current-year enrollment.

Midterm funding isn’t additional revenue for a school district. It is simply the state adjusting funding at
‘midterm’ of the school year to reflect school districts’ actual and audited enrollment. That is, what looks like an
increase, or decrease, in funding is simply the state playing catch-up. In the case of EPIC, the state is providing
funding for students who are enrolled and being served — but for whom no state funding was provided for the
first semester of the school year.

“We are proud to be serving a record number of students this school year with fully certified teachers who have
class rosters on average of 27 students each,” Banfield said. “We anticipate we will continue to grow throughout
this school year, just as we have for the previous school years.”

Wednesday, 12/11/2019   Page .A07 Copyright (c)2019 Edmond Sun, Edition 12/11/2019

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