Investigators said Epic kept thousands of students enrolled and advanced them to the next grade despite them missing half the school year or more. The Oklahoma State Department of Education released a new report last month that raised questions about the way Epic counts student attendance.
Paul campbell epic charter school full#
Epic and the state agency, the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board, reached a settlement that avoided the shutdown as long as the school implemented a long list of changes to its governance and financial policies.Įpic's consolidation checked off the final box to reach full compliance with the settlement.īut state authorities say the school still needs improvement. "A school literally on the brink of closure is now fully in compliance with its authorizer and I would argue is now a state leader in all things compliance."Īfter a state audit found widespread fiscal mismanagement at Epic, a state agency overseeing the school threatened Epic One-on-One with closure.
"In my time here, you have completely shifted from a for-profit model to a 'students first' model,'" he wrote. With this guidance, the successful reorganization of Epic Charter School is almost fully realized, which included school consolidation, alignment of resources, and critical action plans to retain compliance.”Įpic, which has been at the center of criminal investigations for the past nine years, has accomplished a turnaround in the past year "beyond my wildest dreams," Campbell said.
"Paul’s leadership set a clear direction and helped navigate the administration through complex situations to stabilize the organization. "On behalf of Epic Charter School’s Board of Education, administration and our 37,000 students and families, we appreciate the dedication and time of Paul Campbell to advancing significant changes for the betterment of our school," said Ginger Casper, vice chairperson of the school board. School leaders said the merger could save $4 million. The district's school board ratified the consolidation July 13. Now, their student rolls, budgets and staff are combined. The two branches were separate school districts that together made up Epic Charter Schools.
The restructured school board cut ties with Epic's co-founders on the same day.Ĭampbell departs a week after Epic completed a lengthy process to merge its two branches, Epic One-on-One and Epic Blended Charter. "As you prepare for the next board retreat on August 26th I think it's the perfect time for someone else to have the chair and use this retreat to set the stage on the next amazing chapter of Epic."Ĭampbell was appointed to the virtual charter school's governing board May 26, 2021, along with three other new members. "Last year's (Epic) board retreat was essential to launching a new vision for the school and goals to get us where we are now," Campbell wrote in a resignation letter to the board. Paul Campbell said he is stepping down from the volunteer position on Friday to dedicate more time to family, his business and another charter school he leads, The Academy of Seminole. The top board official governing Epic Charter School, Oklahoma's largest school system, will resign from his seat.
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