Embezzlement probe threatens virtual school expansion into Texas

(Information from: Tulsa World, http://www.tulsaworld.com)
TULSA, Okla. (AP) – An embezzlement investigation has placed a contract between a Texas public charter school and Oklahoma’s largest online school on hold.
A spokesman for Lewisville, Texas-based Responsive Education Solutions told the Tulsa World that its contract with Oklahoma’s Epic Charter Schools was withdrawn because of the probe.
In a statement, Epic co-founder David Chaney said that he hopes to proceed with the contract after investigators clear his program.
An Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation search warrant filed in July alleges that Chaney and co-founder Ben Harris inflated student enrollment and embezzled more than $10 million in state funding. Formal charges haven’t been filed and both men deny wrongdoing.
The Pulaski County Special School District in Little Rock, Arkansas, also ended negotiations with Epic shortly after reports of the investigation surfaced in February.