Now that I've had a chance to dig into the @EpicCharter audit, here are few findings I found interesting. A thread.

There are lots of examples of incorrect coding of expenses. Kind of inside baseball, I know, but important. State law caps administrative expenses at 5% so that more tax dollars reach the classroom. But Epic has reclassified management expenses as far back as 2016, auditors found

Another example: job descriptions. One employee was a "manager" on one report but a "family/community support coordinator," which is not administrative, on another report. Only 3 of 6 assistant superintendents were administrative one year.

Schools that exceed 5% of administrative costs pay a penalty, and this, auditors say, is where Epic owes the state nearly $8.4m. They paid a $530,000 penalty last year, which was reported by @readfrontier https://www.readfrontier.org/stories/epic-charter-school-penalized-530k-for-excessive-administrative-costs/

There were also several examples of estimating instead of reporting actual expenses. Even after HB1395 in 2019, requiring itemized expenditures made by a charter management company, @EpicCharter submitted invoices like this one.

The profit motive of the management company Epic Youth Services coming into conflict with the school's responsibility to protect taxpayer dollars was a major theme of the audit. Take this example.

Finally, auditors say they faced roadblocks to the information and there's still millions of dollars they haven't gained access to. @EpicCharter denies it. But this part mirrors my own experience reporting on the school for several years now (except I can't issue subpoenas.)

The full (part 1) audit is available here: https://www.sai.ok.gov/docs/press/Epic%20Charter%20Schools%20Investigative%20Audit%20-%20Part%20One.pdf