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Charter Board Could Face Contempt Charges for Ignoring Supreme Court Order

Published On: July 31, 2024By Categories: State

Oklahoma’s attorney general on Tuesday asked the state Supreme Court to force a state board to comply with its month-old order to rescind a contract with the St. Isidore Catholic charter school. 

If the nine-member board does not comply, its members could face contempt charges. 

The attorney general filed the request with the court Tuesday afternoon after a special meeting of the Statewide Charter School Board, during which the board again delayed rescinding the charter. 

“Every day the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board refuses to comply with this Court’s Order is another day that a state-established religious school persists,” the court filing reads. “That is repugnant to Oklahoma and federal law and must be immediately remediated.”

Board members also refused legal representation from the attorney general and voted to appeal the state Supreme Court’s ruling that St. Isidore is unconstitutional. 

Seven of the board’s nine members voted to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. Becky Gooch, a top aide to the Senate Pro Tem, voted no and Jared Buswell abstained.

“This is way outside our purview,” Gooch said.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters, a member of the board, voted yes. In a written statement, Walters said he’s proud to support sending the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Parents and kids deserve options in education,” he wrote.

Catholic leaders proposed opening St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School as a public charter school, with religious instruction yet fully funded by taxpayers and authorized by the state. 

Last month, in a majority decision, the Oklahoma Supreme Court blocked the school and ordered the state to rescind its contract with the school. The board has yet to do so, which has sent them ping-ponging between legal counsel. 

“Every Oklahoman should be outraged by the board’s blatant hostility toward religious liberty,” Attorney General Gentner Drummond said in a written statement. 

One role of the attorney general’s office is to provide legal advice to state agencies, boards and commissions.

The Statewide Charter School Board’s predecessor, the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board, approved St. Isidore’s application in 2023 against the advice of the attorney general. Then, the board hired Oklahoma City attorney Cheryl Plaxico and Virginia-based Alliance Defending Freedom for cases related to St. Isidore, and Dan Carsey for other legal issues.

But on July 12, Drummond took over as legal counsel after the board met without rescinding its agreement with the Catholic church to operate the school. Drummond and Philip Sechler, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom, have traded barbs in recent days over Drummond’s takeover. 

Sechler argued the new board assumed all contracts, including for legal services, and should make its own decisions about which counsel represented it. Drummond responded that the contract with Sechler’s law firm expired when the board dissolved July 1. Sechler, in his response, made a case that Drummond’s office has a conflict of interest representing the board because it is the plaintiff in the legal challenge over St. Isidore.

On July 23, Drummond wrote back. “Please let me be more direct: your services are no longer required…The Supreme Court has issued its ruling, and the litigation is done.” 

Chairman Brian Shellem and board member Ben Lepak rebuffed advice from Deputy Attorney General Thomas Schneider, who attended Tuesday’s meeting. They reiterated Sechler’s argument over the conflict of interest. 

In attendance with Schneider were two armed agents from the attorney general’s office, who watched from the back of the room. 

Ultimately, the board voted to seek approval from the attorney general’s office to rehire Carsey as legal counsel.

charter board

The Statewide Charter School Board met in a special meeting on Tuesday, July 30, 2024. They discussed the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling on St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School but did not rescind the contract despite the court’s order. (Jennifer Palmer/Oklahoma Watch)
 

Oklahoma Watch, at oklahomawatch.org, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that covers public-policy issues facing the state.

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