TULSA, Okla. — Epic Charter Schools is making cuts to their staff and asking teachers to take a pay cut.
Epic, an online school, told staff on October 25th that due to student enrollment numbers the school is making changes to staffing numbers.
Here is a copy of the email sent to the staff:
Good morning,
I have unpleasant news to share this morning that will have an impact on all of us at Epic Charter Schools as we continue into the 2024-2025 school year.
Epic is facing a significant financial deficit due to student enrollment that fell well short of our forecasted growth for the student population. As a publicly funded school, we have an obligation to balance the budget according to state law, and so difficult decisions had to be made to meet the challenge head on and right-size Epic to fit the current reality.
In addition to cost-saving measures we have identified in recent months, a reduction in staff will also be necessary. This was not a decision we take lightly, and it weighs heavy on our hearts to find ourselves in this position, particularly after so much progress has been made over the last year and all the success and momentum we are experiencing as an organization.
Today, our HR team will begin contacting employees who are included in this staff reduction to explain the off-boarding process and answer any questions. We will also begin communicating with students and families impacted by the reorganization, as well as vendors and community partners as appropriate.
Epic will take a different approach to staffing based on projected enrollment data in the future to ensure we never face this situation again.
There will be opportunities for you to ask questions and voice your concerns in the coming days and weeks.
Sincerely,
Superintendent Banfield and the Executive Leadership Team
In addition to the layoffs the people remaining on staff are being asked to agree to salary changes.
- Beginning 11/1/2024, the minimum salary for teachers is adjusting to $50,000 annually, which is a change from $60,000. for teachers
- Effective Nov. 1, we will implement a 1% reduction in annual compensation for administrative staff earning $80,000 or more
School leaders said in the future they'll make staffing choices based on enrollment data differently to avoid this in the future.
2 News asked Epic about the cuts and they gave this statement :
Epic Charter Schools is currently going through a school-wide reorganization to right-size programs, services and staffing due to student enrollment numbers that did not rise to our anticipated growth for the 2024-2025 school year. We are doing everything we can to ensure the educational experience isn’t disrupted for our current students and families, and to support those impacted by the staffing position adjustments.
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