Epic Charter School board leader to resign

The top board official governing Epic Charter School, Oklahoma's largest school system, will resign from his seat.

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.

"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. "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."

Campbell was appointed to the virtual charter school's governing board May 26, 2021, along with three other new members. The restructured school board cut ties with Epic's co-founders on the same day.

Campbell departs a week after Epic completed a lengthy process to merge its two branches, Epic One-on-One and Epic Blended Charter. The two branches were separate school districts that together made up Epic Charter Schools.

Now, their student rolls, budgets and staff are combined. The district's school board ratified the consolidation July 13. School leaders said the merger could save $4 million.

"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. "Paul’s leadership set a clear direction and helped navigate the administration through complex situations to stabilize the organization. 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.”

Epic, 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.

"In my time here, you have completely shifted from a for-profit model to a 'students first' model,'" he wrote. "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."

After a state audit found widespread fiscal mismanagement at Epic, a state agency overseeing the school threatened Epic One-on-One with closure. 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.

Epic's consolidation checked off the final box to reach full compliance with the settlement.

But state authorities say the school still needs improvement.

The Oklahoma State Department of Education released a new report last month that raised questions about the way Epic counts student attendance. 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 state Education Department also alleged Campbell and other Epic school board members were far more involved in school operations than is appropriate. Typically, operational decisions are left to a public school superintendent.

Epic Superintendent Bart Banfield said the school is working with the state agency to correct issues.

"We have been moving very quickly, and let me say, it has not been an easy task to completely deconstruct and then reconstruct our school from the ground up," Banfield said in a June 21 press conference. "Let me be clear, the Oklahoma State Department of Education is our partner in these efforts."

Campbell was a prominent leader at Epic as it transitioned away from administration by the school's co-founders, Ben Harris and David Chaney.

Harris, Chaney and their chief financial officer, Josh Brock, were charged last month with racketeering and a litany of financial crimes, stemming from their management of the school. All three have denied wrongdoing.

Campbell said the school was in flux after it split from the co-founders, but it has stabilized.

"What I think’s missing quite starkly from this (state Education Department) report is that if you go back through our open meetings, we’ve been very upfront that we’re going to have our hands in this, especially in the first 90 days," Campbell said in a June 21 press conference. "Since then, I think Bart (Banfield) and I are really clear about what his role is and what my role is."

Charter school boards appoint their own members. That means the remaining six members of Epic's board will choose Campbell's replacement.

Epic still has mountains to climb, namely in redefining student outcomes and achieving them, Campbell wrote in his resignation letter.

"But I know the foundation we have built together can get you there," he said to board and school officials.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include a statement from Epic Charter School board vice chairperson Ginger Casper.

Reporter Nuria Martinez-Keel covers K-12 and higher education throughout the state of Oklahoma. Have a story idea for Nuria? She can be reached at nmartinez-keel@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @NuriaMKeel. Support Nuria’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Epic Charter School board leader Paul Campbell to resign