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Dewey Public Schools

Posted: Jun 09, 2021 10:30 AMUpdated: Jun 09, 2021 11:11 AM

DPS, Others Drop Lawsuit Against State Board of Ed

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Garrett Giles

The lawsuit that schools across Oklahoma joined in April against the State Board of Education has been dropped.

Dewey Public Schools was one of the schools to join the lawsuit. Superintendent Vince Vincent said the lawsuit was brought about after the State Board of Education agreed to a settlement with the Oklahoma Charter School Association based on a 2017 lawsuit that would give charter schools the same level of funding as public schools. He said the passage of Senate Bill 229, better known as the Redbud School Funding Act, played a big role in the lawsuit being dropped.

Vincent said SB229 included a funding mechanism in it for brick and mortar charter schools. He said it didn't include the online charter schools. This was designed to help with the brick and mortar aspects of a school.

The Redbud Funding Act was created to provide building fund monies for schools that were below the state average in per pupil revenue with their building fund. Vincent said DPS was one of those schools that were below the state average. He said $330 per student was the state average.

Now Dewey Schools stands to gain another $175,000 to $180,000 in its building fund starting next year. Vincent said they're looking at receiving double the amount they typically gain annually. He said SB229 was a big win for schools in Oklahoma.

Vincent said the Redbud Funding Act intertwined with the State Board of Ed choosing to rescind its settlement decision and the Charter School Association dropping its lawsuit against the Board were the reasons why they left the lawsuit. He said Dewey Public Schools has notified its attorneys that they would withdraw from the lawsuit.


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