Legal Fight Over St. Isidore Charter School Moving To U.S. Supreme Court
The Statewide Charter School Board is hoping to take the lawsuit against the nation’s first publicly funded religious school to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In response, the state attorney general called the board’s move “blatant hostility toward religious liberty.”
In June, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled the contract of St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual Charter School was unconstitutional, siding with Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who brought the case.
It ordered the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board to rescind St. Isidore’s contract, but the board failed to do that.
The Statewide Charter School Board took over the duties of the preceding board when it dissolved.
At its Tuesday meeting, that board voted to appeal the decision of the State Supreme Court to the U.S. Supreme Court and tabled the agenda item to act on rescinding St. Isidore’s contract until after the case concludes.
Chair Brian Shellem argued the board may not be able to retain its legal standing in the potential Supreme Court case if it were to rescind the contract.
The move conflicts with a directive from Drummond, who told the board earlier this month his office would serve as the board’s legal counsel and follow the order to rescind the contract.
The board voted to refuse that counsel and retain its own.
Oklahoma City Council Tables Gaza Ceasefire Resolution
The OKC City Council won’t be calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, at least not in the immediate future.
The council took up a contentious resolution at its meeting Tuesday.
The resolution condemned anti-Semitic, anti-Palestinian, Islamaphobic, xenophobic rhetoric and attacks.
Councilmembers Nikki Nice and JoBeth Hamon requested it after receiving calls from their constituents.
Councilmember Mark Stonecipher motioned to postpone the resolution indefinitely, essentially killing it.
But before voting, Mayor David Holt allowed public comment.
Audrey Hendrix is a Ward 8 resident who spoke in favor of the resolution
“This proposal is not radical. It is simply a statement that Oklahoma City stands against violence. Oklahomans stand against violence towards children, mothers, fathers and grandparents regardless of where they are from,” Hendrix said.
The motion to table the measure passed six to three.
New Governing Body To Oversee Tulsa’s Greenwood Area Redevelopment
A section of North Tulsa will soon have a governing body to make real estate decisions.
On Thursday, the city announced $2 million had been approved to fund the creation of a Community Development Corporation in part of Greenwood.
The corporation will oversee a 56-acre publicly owned plot of land in North Tulsa.
Jonathan Butler is with PartnerTulsa, the city’s economic development body.
“The goal of this CDC is really to be the decision-maker, the steward, of the land. They make the determinations about what will happen on the property,” Butler said.
A Greenwood CDC is part of the city’s Kirkpatrick Heights-Greenwood Master Plan, an initiative to redevelop sections of the historic neighborhood.
In addition to the recent $2 million, voters approved another $5 million as part of the Improve Our Tulsa tax package.
Family Members Buy Jim Thorpe’s Yale Home
Former Olympic Athlete Jim Thorpe’s historical home is back in his family’s hands.
The Oklahoma Historical Society has sold Jim Thorpe’s former home to his grandchildren through the Thorpe Family Foundation.
The home is located in Yale and Thorpe lived there from 1917 to 1923.
Thorpe was a famous multisport Oklahoman athlete and a member of the Sac and Fox Nation. Thorpe was the first Native American to win an Olympic gold medal.
He won two gold medals in the 1912 Summer Olympics, one for the classic pentathlon and one for the decathlon.
Though his medals were revoked for breaking the amateur competitor rules of the time, they were eventually restored to him after his death.
This year, President Joe Biden awarded Thorpe the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
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