State Supreme Court Rules Religious Charter School Is Unconstitutional
The Oklahoma Supreme Court says the state’s contract with what would be the first publicly funded religious school is unconstitutional, and must be rescinded.
The ruling was decided in an 7-to-1 majority Tuesday.
The lawsuit was brought by Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who argued that because charter schools are public schools in Oklahoma and by law must be nonsectarian, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual Charter School’s contract was unconstitutional.
The state’s highest court agreed.
In its ruling, it wrote because St. Isidore will evangelize its faith as part of its curriculum, it violates Oklahoma laws, the Oklahoma constitution and the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Despite St. Isidore arguing its creation was lawful through the constitution's Free (religious) Exercise Clause, the court wrote that as a state-created school, St. Isidore doesn’t exist independently of the state and isn’t a private entity - as in the other case precedents St. Isidore’s arguments relied on.
The case is likely not over, though. The court gave St. Isidore 10 days to petition for a rehearing, and it’s expected the decision will be appealed.
Carter County Sheriff Primary Ends in Tie, Winner Could Be Decided by Draw
The Republican primary for Carter County sheriff ended in a tie last week.
Two candidates each received exactly 2,569 votes.
The Carter County Election Board will need to find a way to break the tie between current Sheriff Chris Bryant and challenger DJ Long.
The state doesn’t allow runoffs for races with only two candidates.
If recounting the ballots by hand doesn’t change the results, it will come down to pure chance — a name drawn from a container.
Carter County Election Board Secretary Diane Hall says the candidates will choose the container, and their names will be written in identical font on identical papers folded identically.
A district judge will draw the name.
Hall says the recount will take a while, but she hopes to determine a winner before the 4th of July. Because only Republicans ran, the victor will be the next sheriff.
Chickasaw Nation Launches Campaign For Tornado Recovery Efforts in Sulphur, Marietta
The Chickasaw Nation is starting a $6 million fundraising campaign to rebuild business and boost economic recovery in Sulphur and Marietta.
The Business Rebuilding and Recovery Campaign has the goal of helping the business get back on their feet in Marietta and Sulphur after deadly tornadoes slammed the areas in late April.
Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby says more than 50 local businesses had significant or total losses in the cities because of the storms.
He says the fund will help businesses open quickly and preserve the historic character of the communities. The overall goal is $6 million. The Chickasaw Nation says it’s made a “substantial financial contribution” to get things started.
The campaign creates a grant program that the Chickasaw Foundation will manage.
Information about eligibility requirements and the application process for businesses looking to rebuild will be released shortly.
Oklahoma City Animal Shelter Limits Intake
The Oklahoma City Animal Shelter is making changes to its intake policy.
Starting Tuesday, the shelter has limited daily intake to 30 dogs and 30 cats.
Officials say the change is due to the overpopulation at the shelter.
Animals will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis with no appointments necessary.
The shelter says once the daily limit is reached, signs will be placed on the front doors, indicating intake capacity has been met for the day.
The policy remains in effect until further notice.
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