Update On Lawsuit Over St. Isidore Virtual Charter School
The case is heating up against the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board.
It approved the nation’s first publicly funded religious school, the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual Charter School.
The lawsuit’s plaintiffs aren’t giving up their push to disqualify the judge assigned to the case.
Last month, plaintiffs moved to disqualify Oklahoma County District Judge Brent Dishman. Dishman denied the motion, but as of last week, a hearing was set for January 19 so another judge could make that call.
Plaintiffs say Dishman should be disqualified for two reasons: first, he sits on the Board of Trustees for the private Christian university, the College of the Ozarks, which was recently represented by the same legal counsel - the Alliance Defending Freedom - that represents the defendants in THIS case.
Both cases deal with similar themes, such as religious liberty and discriminatory practices based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
The second reason is, Dishman’s brother is married to a member of the controlling body of one of the plaintiffs, the Oklahoma Parent Legislative Action Committee.
The suit echoes a similar one brought by Oklahoma Attorney Gentner Drummond against St. Isidore and the board - that one is still in preliminary stages.
Voters To Decide Propositions In 18 Counties
Elections are being held in 18 counties today.
Voters will decide 24 propositions on education, public safety and other issues.
Beaver County voters will choose if the county will be annexed into High Plains Technology Center’s district.
This means the panhandle would not only gain a secondary education resource but also, the center will grow its existing bilingual services for students.
If the county’s proposition passes, there will be just over a penny property tax levy.
In eastern Oklahoma, Grove residents will be voting on a potential sales tax increase for new police and fire department stations. This comes after voters struck down a property tax increase in September.
In Central Oklahoma, voters of the Oakdale Public School District in Edmond will decide on an $11 million bond package for the district’s security upgrades, new HVAC systems and more.
Polls are open until 7 p.m.
Arctic Blast Heading Toward Oklahoma
An arctic blast is forecast to hit Oklahoma this weekend.
State Climatologist Gary McManus says Oklahomans should be preparing for some of the coldest weather we've seen since the unprecedented winter storm of February 2021.
The extended outlook from the National Weather Service forecasts highs in the teens Monday and lows in the single digits. That’s without factoring in the wind.
According to McManus, guidance suggests the extreme cold snap could also come with a major winter storm for the region, but it’s not certain yet. More details will emerge the closer we get to the weekend.
Expanding TV Coverage Of Thunder Games
The Oklahoma City Thunder is broadening its TV reach for Friday games during the rest of the regular season.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have teamed up with Griffin Communications to offer eight Friday games for free over the air in addition to regular cable and satellite broadcasts.
This move aims to expand the accessibility of their games to fans across Oklahoma.
The games will be broadcast by TV stations KSBI, channel 52 in Oklahoma City, News on 6 Now and channel 6.3 in Tulsa. Plus other Griffin channels covering Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas.
Complete channel details, dates and information on how to access the Friday game broadcasts can be found on the Oklahoma City Thunder’s website.
The Thunder have eight Friday night games left on the schedule, featuring contests against the Phoenix Suns, Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks.
_________________
For additional news throughout the day visit our website, KGOU.org and follow us on social media.
We also invite you to subscribe to the KGOU AM NewsBrief.