Epic Charter Schools agrees to repay $9.1M to State after audit, bringing total to $20M

As you might recall, Epic Charter Schools somewhat took the public education scene by storm over the past several years, rapidly becoming the largest public school system/district in the state. The education establishment felt threatened by the growth of virtual charter schools (which... isn't that basically what brick-and-mortar schools turned into due to COVID-19?), and started to go after their new competitors. Unfortunately for Epic, it seems that they failed to follow certain state education rules and basic finance procedures, to the point that earlier this year they were charged $10.5M in penalties. The State Board of Education, last October, demanded that Epic pay $11.2M, which Epic disputed. Upon further review by the State Auditor's office, Epic has now agreed to repay $9.11M, bringing their total in penalties to around twenty million dollars. The press release comes from State Auditor Cindy Byrd: EPIC TO RETURN $20 MILLION TO STATE AUDIT FINDINGS VALIDATED  OKLAHOMA CITY – After a thorough review of the investigative audit of Epic Charter Schools conducted by the State Auditor’s office last year, and a ruling by the State Board of Education (SDE), Epic Charter Schools has agreed to repay $9.11 million to the state.   “I want to commend SDE for its work to determine Epic’s administrative costs,” said State Auditor & Inspector Cindy Byrd.  “Because of our audit, Epic will return approximately $20 million in total to the State.  “Epic Charter Schools is a public school district, funded 100% by taxpayers, and my office has a duty to make sure they are spending the money properly.  We asked for records and its hired education management company (EMO) refused to fully comply.  Our audit findings verified the numbers based on the information the company did provide.  Today’s agreement confirms that Epic’s EMO abused millions of taxpayer dollars by hiding its excessive administrative costs.” Under the operating agreement between Epic Charter Schools and its hired management company, owners Ben Harris and David Chaney were taking 10% of every dollar Epic received to provide administration and management to the school.  Their 10% fee exceeds the 5% administrative cap in state law. Read more » by Jamison Faught - December 17, 2021 at 07:49AM

Epic Charter Schools agrees to repay $9.1M to State after audit, bringing total to $20M Click the title to read the entire article at Muskogee Politico