Enid News & Eagle

ANOTHER VIEW

Aug
26

2020
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42% Epic should end legal
dispute with senator
Recently, an Oklahoma County dis-
trict judge ordered Epic Charter Schools
— which has become the state’s largest
school district — to pay a state senator
$500,000 in sanctions and $36,000 in
legal fees.
The order was the latest development
in the dispute between the fast-growing
charter school, which largely delivers
education through an online format, and
Sen. Ron Sharp, R-Shawnee.
In the summer of 2019, Sharp raised
A
l
questions about the school’s student
attendance and enrollment practices. He
has questioned how the charter school
could have received millions in state
funding for 3,000 to 4,000 students in
middle and high school when the Epic
Blended Learning Centers in which they
were enrolled could be attended only by
students in early education and elementa- fif
ry school grades. Ev
Epic sued him, seeking at least w
$75,000 in damages, but Oklahoma a
County District Judge Cindy Truong dis- to
missed the suit, saying Sharp’s comments lo
and news releases about Epic didn’t meet
the legal standard to prove libel and slan- as
der against a public entity. stu
Sharp said he was pleased with the str
results and will continue to work to in
ensure proper oversight and use of state te
funds. A spokeswoman for Epic said the “a
judge’s ruling was wrong and will be
appealed. w
We have long admired Sharp’s tena- of
cious efforts to keep an eye on how Epic a
fre
uses state education funding. Oklahoma at
doesn’t appropriate enough money to Fr
support its public schools adequately, and M
it’s essential that every penny be used Cz
appropriately and efficiently. pl
We hope Epic will drop this issue. The
school has the same protections against us
defamation as any other Oklahoma busi- bl
ness, but spending public money brings w
with it appropriate scrutiny — as every gr
Oklahoma public school district knows. D
We have to think that Epic’s efforts im
would be better spent making sure it is be
providing an excellent education to its re
students than pursuing this dispute any
further.
— Tulsa World
M

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It’s Happening
Aug
27

2020

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At School
Clip By: Will Jones, Superintendent
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Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.