The proposed school would have offered a Jewish education virtually to Oklahoma students. The board took the vote after a federal judge ruled in September it could not reject the school solely because of its religious character.
Because one member was absent and another spot sits vacant, the board’s 4-3 vote did not meet the 5-vote threshold for approval.
William Pearson, Marshall Baker and Courtney Anderson — who serves as an official designee of State Superintendent of Public Instruction Lindel Fields — voted no. Pearson, the only remaining member of the board’s previous iteration, the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board, was one of two votes against the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. The other was Republican nominee for state superintendent, Robert Franklin.
Member Amber Wise was absent.
The board was in executive session for more than an hour. Once they returned to open session, no members offered discussion before the vote.
“Welcome to the rollercoaster ride,” Chair Brian Shellem said after the vote was cast. “Unfortunately, that’s where we stand.”
Board attorney A.J. Ferate told reporters after the vote that he presumes there may be a motion by the National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation to hold the board in contempt.
Asked if the issue of the separation of church and state motivated the board members’ no votes, Ferate said he could “generally disagree” that that was the case.
The board first rejected the school’s application based on ten deficiencies, including missing discipline policies and inconsistencies with enrollment.
The board again rejected Ben Gamla’s application earlier this year, saying it was constrained by a 2024 Oklahoma Supreme Court decision that found an application for a previous religious charter school to be unconstitutional. That case went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which tied, allowing the lower court’s ruling to stand.
Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who brought the suit against St. Isidore, alleged the board’s second rejection of Ben Gamla was engineered to benefit the school’s chances in court by focusing solely on its religious aspect. He asked a district judge in March to order the board to issue a complete letter with all of the reasons for its rejection.
After its rejection, the National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation sued the board. In March, it filed a motion for a preliminary injunction. It sought to allow the school to still open for the 2027-28 school year while the lawsuit moves through the courts.
Despite the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board being named as defendants in the Ben Gamla case, its lawyers argue in favor of Ben Gamla. After an August hearing, board chair Brian Shellem said the St. Isidore decision tied the board’s hands.
Oppositional arguments instead have come from a group of Oklahoma families, teachers and clergy who filed as intervenors.
While the case could be appealed to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, there has yet to be an appeal filed.
After the vote, Ben Gamla board member Brett Farley told reporters he wasn’t sure whether the board would or could take the vote again. He said he assumed Wise would have voted in the school’s favor.
“We’re obviously disappointed. We’re very excited about the prospect of starting the school,” Farley said. “So this is a setback, but it’s not the end.”
The news comes after an email from Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Founder Peter Deutsch was sent to Jewish leaders in Oklahoma. It was published by Oklahoma Rabbi Daniel Kaiman, one of the email’s recipients.
In the email, Deutsch said the school would start as an online high school serving just 10 students — far short of original projections. Its application estimated an enrollment of between 335 to 495 kindergarten through twelfth graders.
“The purpose of the first year is to establish an excellent school, demonstrate that the model works, and create a foundation for substantial future growth,” Deutsch wrote in the email. “Our goal, however, is much larger than opening a single school in Oklahoma.”
Deutsch said the school could become a national model, creating a “paradigm shift” in Jewish education, by establishing Jewish religious charter schools around the country.
In the email, he asked Kaiman, an intervenor in the lawsuit, if he would be interested in serving as principal for the school, or if he could recommend people who have been “exceptionally successful recruiting Jewish high-school-aged students.”
The letter draws into question the demand for the school, which members of Oklahoma’s Jewish community have doubted.
“Mr. Deutsch’s email shows what we’ve long argued: Mr. Deutsch, who’s from Florida, and his school are completely disconnected from the Oklahoma Jewish community,” Kaiman said in a statement. “It also shows how little our community wants this. Perhaps most importantly, it shows that this school is nothing but a Trojan horse for creating religious public schools.”
Oklahoma civil rights organizations representing the intervenors called on the board to reject the application for reasons including an alleged lack of community support, questions of financial or operational viability.
StateImpact Oklahoma is a partnership of Oklahoma’s public radio stations which relies on contributions from readers and listeners to fulfill its mission of public service to Oklahoma and beyond. Donate online.
