The Comanche County Chronicle
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Jul
24
2019
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Epic Charter School advocates gathered at the State Capitol for an educational day on March 11, 2019.
Has oversight of Epic Schools been lax?
By Jennifer Palmer
Oklahoma Watch
OKLAHOMA CITY - In his
request for a search war-
rant, a law enforcement
agent described Epic Char-
ter Schools as being set up a
GHFDGHDJRDVDSURāWJHQHU-
ating “scheme.”
And he described the
school’s co-founders as
deeply involved in alleged
embezzlement of state funds
and obtaining money under
false pretenses – such as per-
sonally recruiting “ghost stu-
dents” to boost the school’s
funding and allowing stu-
dents who completed no
work or moved out of state
on the school’s rolls.
All of which begs the ques-
tion: Who is responsible for
oversight of Epic? And have
they done enough to be a
check on the state’s largest
virtual school?
Co-founders David Chaney
and Ben Harris, in a joint
statement, say the allegations
are false.
“We will continue to coop-
erate with investigators, as
we have throughout the his-
tory of our school. We are
FRQāGHQW WKH IDFWV ZLOO RQFH
again vindicate our team,”
their joint statement reads.
The allegations outlined in
the Oklahoma State Bureau
of Investigation’s search war-
rant have drawn the atten-
tion of the highest-ranking
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has asked to be briefed on the
investigation, and Superin-
tendent of Public Instruction
Joy Hofmeister called the
allegations “extremely seri-
ous, disturbing.”
INVESTIGATIVE AUDIT
On July 19, Stitt and Hof-
meister announced they have
requested an investigative
audit on Epic and its related
companies by the state Audi-
tor & Inspector, looking at
the past three years.
What will ultimately result
from the audit and OSBI
investigation is unclear. The
accounts of alleged wrong-
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intense news coverage have
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cials to do something. Yet as
a charter school, Epic is more
loosely regulated than tra-
ditional district schools and
is an icon of school choice
to supporters. So increased
efforts to curb its practices
could meet resistance.
Epic, the brand name for
Community Strategies Inc.,
Photo by Whitney Bryen/Oklahoma Watch
board and the school’s board.
Above that, there’s the
Statewide Virtual Char-
ter School Board, which is
a small state agency with a
governor-appointed board
charged with overseeing and
authorizing each statewide
virtual school.
Then there’s the state
Department of Education,
which accredits Epic as a
charter school, and Rose
State College, which spon-
sors Epic’s separate charter
school composed of blended
learning centers in Oklahoma
City and Tulsa.
The school is audited by
an independent auditor each
year, and until recently, an
investigative audit had never
been sought from the State
Auditor.
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subject to IRS rules for tax-
exempt charities requiring
transparency and banning
campaign activities and prof-
its for shareholders.
Charter school authorizers
Search Warrant alleges embezzlement,
use of ‘Ghost Students’ by Epic Schools
By Jennifer Palmer
Oklahoma Watch
OKLAHOMA CITY - A state
investigator’s search warrant
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evidence of alleged embez-
zlement of state funds and
obtaining money under false
pretenses at Epic Charter
Schools, including through
the use of “ghost students”
who receive no actual
instruction at the school.
Epic and its two co-
founders, David Chaney and
Ben Harris, are the subject
of a state law enforcement
investigation, according to
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County District Court.
The agent reviewed bank
statements and found Chaney
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vit states. Epic is a publicly
funded charter school that is
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pany, Epic Youth Services,
which is owned by Chaney
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The Oklahoman.
On June 28, OSBI agents
visited the Oklahoma City
home of an Epic teacher, the
– in Epic’s case, the Statewide
Virtual Charter School Board
– have two main responsi-
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National Association of Char-
ter School Authorizers. Those
are making sure taxpayers
are getting what they paid
for and children are getting a
good education.
VIRTUAL SCHOOL
ACCOUNTABILITY
Richmond said part of the
problem with virtual school
accountability is most school
laws were not written with
virtual schools in mind.
“That creates uncertainty
around how things are sup-
posed to be administered
and creates openings which a
disingenuous person can take
advantage of,” he said.
Several states have uncov-
ered fraud at virtual schools
at taxpayers’ expense. A
large virtual charter in Ohio
closed abruptly last year and
the state ordered it to repay
agents sought in the search
warrant.
ACCUSED OF "GHOST
STUDENTS"
Epic is accused of receiv- action to combat what we
ing state funding for “ghost believe is a coordinated effort
VWXGHQWVÝ DV HDUO\ DV  to damage our school, our
Those students were home- co-founders and our staff.”
schooled and attended pri-
vate and sectarian schools meister, in a statement, called
and enrolled in Epic to receive the allegations “extremely
DQÜOHDUQLQJIXQGÝZLWK- serious and disturbing.
out receiving instruction
IURP(SLFWKHDIāGDYLWVWDWHV Education stands ready to
"$800 CLUB"
Epic teachers dubbed
those students “members of
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ing fund is provided to all Epic
students and can be spent on
curriculum, technology and
extracurricular activities.
Shelly Hickman, a spokes-
woman for Epic Charter
Schools, responded to media
reports describing the allega-
tions on Tuesday.
“We are audited by the
Department of Education
and state-approved audi-
tors each school year and
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we operate our public school
system within the boundar-
ies of state and federal law,”
Epic Charter Schools is a publicly funded
charter school that is managed by a for-
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investigators say two vir-
tual charter schools received
public funding based on
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ordered the school to return
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STATEWIDE VIRTUAL
CHARTER SCHOOL
BOARD
Richmond says one weak-
ness in accountability that he
commonly sees in states is
that virtual schools are over-
seen by a separate agency,
and that agency is often
understaffed and under-
funded.
Oklahoma’s virtual charter
school board has just three
staff members, two of whom
oversee the state’s virtual
charter schools. It also has
a six-member board, which
includes Executive Director
Rebecca Wilkinson.
While Oklahoma had just
four statewide virtual schools
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reported a total of more than
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Wilkinson said the board
“has and continues to coop-
erate with the Oklahoma
State Bureau of Investiga-
tion.” She declined to com-
ment further.
She has previously raised
concerns about Epic’s aca-
demic scores and student
turnover. She has spear-
headed a new accountability
system for virtual schools to
measure their performance.
If the schools fail to meet
the board’s criteria, they can
lose their charter and be shut
down. The new accountabil-
ity system begins this year
with Epic and Oklahoma Vir-
tual Charter Academy, and
the other schools will be
added as their contracts are
renewed.
Wilkinson also began
more closely tracking vir-
tual schools’ attendance by
requiring them to submit
student counts monthly — an
“This latest attack comes
at a time when our growth
makes status quo education
lobbying groups uncomfort-
able. We are considering legal
Superintendent Joy Hof-
“The state Department of
work with any criminal inves-
tigation to determine if pub-
effort to determine whether
there are big jumps or drops
in enrollment at certain
points in the year.
This check likely would
not catch “ghost students,”
GHāQHG E\ WKH 26%, DV VWX-
dents enrolled at Epic who
received little or no instruc-
tion but were recruited and
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enrollment and state funding.
EPIC’S SCHOOL BOARD
Epic’s board meets quar-
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members.
Mike Cantrell is head of an
oil and gas investment com-
pany in Ada, Betsy Brown is a
lawyer in Norman and Adam
Reynolds is co-owner and
founder of Centennial Home
Mortgage in Edmond.
Another attorney, Doug
Scott of Tulsa, holds the
chairman position. Also on
the board is Liberty Mitchell,
an Epic graduate and daugh-
ter of Oklahoma City broad-
cast and podcast producer
Scott Mitchell.
The board appears to be
fairly hands-off in its role
in the school. For instance,
at the September meeting,
there was only one vote, on
a consent docket, and it was
approved unanimously. The
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utes, according to the meet-
ing minutes.
Epic typically holds two
school board meetings, one
after the other: One is for its
fully virtual school, the other
is for its blended school. Both
boards have the same mem-
bers.
THE LEGISLATURE
Epic makes aggressive
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cials.
Epic’s two founders have
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campaign contributions since
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EPIC SCHOOLS
(Continued on page 4A)
lic education and countless
Oklahoma taxpayers have
been defrauded of millions of
dollars. In the meantime, it is
important to let the legal sys-
tem do its work.”
When asked whether the
allegations would affect the
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funding, Education Depart-
PHQW VSRNHVZRPDQ 6WHIāH
Corcoran said they will con-
sult with law enforcement to
determine the next appropri-
ate steps. Epic’s state funding
for next year is estimated at
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LV D QRQSURāW F RUJD-
nization and has a board of
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line of accountability. They
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DIāGDYLW VWDWHV +HU FRP-
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including notes, letters, text
messages with Epic parents,
Chaney and Harris, is what
her statement reads. “Since
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time after time proven our-
selves innocent of all allega-
tions. We will again.

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Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
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The Comanche County Chronicle
Page 4A • Wednesday, July 24, 2019
EPIC SCHOOLS
(Continued from page 2A)
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