Epic Charter Schools’ governing board voted shortly after midnight Wednesday morning to reform its controversial learning fund.
Starting in July, the details of the fund will be available for public inspection for the first time.
The learning fund gives up to $1,000 to students who are enrolled in the school for educational purposes. In the previous five years, it’s accrued almost $80 million.
The move will solve a major issue of contention between the school and state auditor Cindy Byrd. She sued Epic in 2020 for access to the fund’s details, and the case is still being litigated.
Additionally, Epic’s school board set in motion a settlement agreement that would end its termination proceedings before its authorizer. That agreement would have to be voted on and signed by the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board.
It contains some significant structural reforms to Epic including changing governance, clearly separating out the duties of the school and its for-profit management company and changing how the school reports what the management company does to the state.
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