TULSA, Okla. — On Monday, the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual School Board voted 3-2 to approve a public religious charter school, the first of its kind in the nation.
On Tuesday, a memo from the Oklahoma Attorney General's Office called that vote into question. Newly-appointed board member Brian Bobek, who cast the deciding vote, may not have been eligible to vote.
Bobek was appointed by Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall on Friday, abruptly replacing Barry Beauchamp.
- Previous coverage >>> Vote approves Catholic public charter school
Chairman of the OSVSB Robert Franklin told 2 News the memo was sent via email to him and the board executive director before the meeting, but he did not see it.
“I didn’t see it until after the meeting. My wife and I were going to dinner. I look down at my email to just kind of disclose and see all what was happening. And I saw the email, and I was taken aback of its contents," Franklin said.
“We knew that this vote was consequential, not just for our board and not just St. Isidore and the archdiocese, but it had implications across the state and certainly implications across the nation,” he said.
Franklin, who also serves as an associate superintendent for Tulsa Tech, voted 'No' Monday.
He said if further action is taken by the attorney general’s office, Bobek’s vote will be vacated.
“That vote would look 2-2, which means that the matter is (struck) down, which then causes the next action to happen, which I would suspect from the archdiocese to say, ‘Well, we’re gonna appeal that decision,’” Franklin said.
Franklin added that the new controversy could have been prevented if Bobek had instead abstained from Monday’s vote just one business day after being appointed.
“I think Brian Bobek was very intentional about wanting to make that vote," he said. “I think it’s awkward, and it gives concern of political transparency, and that saddens me to some respect. I don’t think it was intended to work out that way, but I think the appearance and consequence of it are in the rear-view mirror.”
When asked what would have happened if the board was given more advance notice of Bobek's likely ineligibility to serve, Franklin said that he would have been invited to speak in public comments but otherwise could not have been officially confirmed and therefore wouldn't have voted.
2 News Oklahoma reached out to the Oklahoma AG's office and got a copy of that memo. You can read it HERE.
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