To enhance its board oversight, the state’s largest on-line college has turned to a businessman who based the state’s first rural constitution college.
Paul Campbell was named chairman of Group Methods, Epic Constitution Faculties’ governing board, on Might 26, a part of the varsity’s response to a crucial investigative audit and a report from the multicounty grand jury urging the general public to demand extra accountability.
Campbell, chief govt officer of Spartan Power Providers, additionally chairs The Academy of Seminole’s board, giving him the weird place of simultaneous oversight of two college programs without delay. The Academy of Seminole is an early school college with 300 college students; Epic Constitution enrolled about 55,000 college students final yr and obtained extra state funding than some other college.
Campbell changed Doug Scott, a Tulsa legal professional who has identified Epic co-founders David Chaney and Ben Harris since he was a baby. Scott served on the board for the reason that college’s first yr in 2011.
That completes a full board turnover. Not one of the members serving in the course of the years examined by the state Auditor and Inspector stay.
New board members be a part of throughout a time of heightened scrutiny. Auditors have been extremely crucial of Epic’s board’s lax oversight over Epic Youth Providers, the corporate that managed the varsity and picked up hundreds of thousands of {dollars} for the varsity’s co-founders, Chaney and Harris. The grand jury report referred to as the entities’ relationship “incestuous” and “ripe for fraud.”
In his first motion as board chair, Campbell and the board minimize all ties with the corporate.
In a termination settlement, Epic Youth Providers agreed at hand over management of the varsity by June 30 — together with the educational fund, a separate account used to pay for extracurricular actions and academic objects chosen by every household. The college agreed to pay the corporate for remaining studying fund orders minus about $10.9 million in penalties the varsity owes the state Division of Schooling.
“It’s an enormous day for Epic Constitution Faculties and an enormous shift in our technique,” Campbell mentioned, noting that the change will save the varsity tens of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} and enhance its know-how.
In tapping Campbell, Epic is drawing on his expertise in Seminole. The Academy of Seminole simply completed its third college yr and celebrated its first graduating class; 17 obtained diplomas, and greater than half have earned or are on observe to finish their associates diploma this yr, college superintendent Wren Hawthorn mentioned.
However the college’s monetary image has not lived as much as expectations set in 2017 when it turned the primary constitution college sponsored by the state Board of Schooling after its proposal was twice rejected by the Seminole Public Faculties board.
Like a typical constitution college proposal, the plan was to marry private and non-private funds to function the varsity. The Academy of Seminole obtained $600,000 in federal start-up cash and $325,000 from the Walton Household Basis, in keeping with a narrative in The Hechinger Report.
Further funding was supposed to return from Advance Rural Schooling, a nonprofit Campbell fashioned in 2016, to complement the varsity’s state assist. On the time, Campbell was CEO of Enviro Techniques, a Seminole-based aerospace firm.
The college’s proposal to the state Board of Schooling included $1 million over three years from Advance Rural Schooling, however the nonprofit solely raised a complete of $145,000 between 2016 and 2019. Practically all was in 2017, with $100,000 from a single contributor, data present.
“Funds obtained so dangerous final yr,” mentioned Sheldon McCoy, who was on the Academy of Seminole board when the varsity took out a $400,000 “nonpayable warrant,” which has similarities to a mortgage.
“Once I left the varsity board I used to be in deep concern I used to be going to have to try this once more and I simply didn’t not need to put my identify on that,” McCoy mentioned.
The college additionally had shifted cash from exercise funds to cowl basic bills a number of occasions, data present. It’s common for faculties to cowl bills with fund transfers or nonpayable warrants, notably after they count on funds by way of a property tax fee or reimbursement from the federal authorities, mentioned Shawn Hime, govt director of the Oklahoma State Faculty Boards Affiliation.
Final yr, the Academy certified for $226,900 by way of the Paycheck Safety Program, a federal COVID-19 reduction effort to assist firms cowl payroll in the course of the pandemic. The funds begin as loans however are forgiven in most cases.
Campbell mentioned as soon as the Paycheck Safety Program mortgage is forgiven, the varsity will probably be debt-free. “That’s fairly unimaginable for a college solely in its third yr,” he mentioned, including that he views the varsity’s funds as “a hit story.”
McCoy, although, blames a few of the monetary points on the varsity’s makes an attempt to develop too quick.
Scholar development is one other space the place the varsity strayed from its unique proposal. Like most new constitution faculties, the Academy of Seminole was anticipated so as to add grades progressively.
It proposed serving simply juniors and seniors in its first yr and including just a few grades annually till reaching pre-Ok by way of 12 grades in its fourth yr.
The college did open in 2017-18 as deliberate, enrolling 29 juniors and seniors, state Schooling Division information exhibits. For yr two, the varsity opened up all grades and enrolled 283 college students — 10 occasions as many college students because the yr earlier than.
“It was virtually horrifying to assume how large we have been getting,” mentioned Dillon Robinson, an Academy of Seminole board member. He mentioned the varsity was responding to demand from the neighborhood in opening up extra rapidly, and with that got here an added expense.
Robinson didn’t fear concerning the financial institution mortgage or the fund transfers. “We knew we have been going to see the sunshine on the finish of the tunnel,” he mentioned.
Faculty founders proposed finding the highschool on the Seminole State Faculty campus as a part of its emphasis on having these college students earn school credit score. That association solely lasted one yr. The college is now situated in a former Nationwide Guard constructing. However the emphasis on concurrent enrollment continues.
Campbell defined that the varsity’s development necessitated the mortgage, which was paid in full as soon as its state assist was adjusted midyear. “This was all performed transparently and with approval from our board, our college accountant and in an open assembly,” he mentioned.
Campbell says he’ll push for extra transparency at Epic in his new function. “It appears like a frightening job and I positively really feel up for it,” he mentioned after being named chair.
Jennifer Palmer has been a reporter with Oklahoma Watch since 2016 and covers training. Contact her at (405) 761-0093 or [email protected]. Comply with her on Twitter @jpalmerOKC
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