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Teachers Union President Wants Oklahoma City School Board Member to Step Down

Oklahoma City Public Schools

At the Oklahoma City Public School Board meeting on Monday night, the president of the teacher’s union, Ed Allen, called for one board member to step down, at least momentarily.

Allen believes board member Gloria Torres could have been involved in enrollment fraud at the Oklahoma City Community College, where she is the director of Community Outreach and Education.

According to The Oklahoman, two OCCC employees for Torres’s department were suspended with pay on August 11.

An OCCC employee told authorities Aug. 9 “that her supervisor was altering/changing test scores and enrollment information, which would reflect inflated numbers in order to gain money for state and federal grants,” an officer for OCCC campus police wrote in a search warrant affidavit.
The supervisor wasn't named in the affidavit.

No one—including Torres—has been named in the police investigation into the allegations of fraud, but Allen says the board could damage its integrity and trust within the community by keeping her on.

"I think it is appropriate, if any board member is under investigation for criminal conduct, that board member should not engage in any board activity until cleared by the investigation," says Allen.

The investigation is ongoing.

Emily Wendler was KOSU's education reporter from 2015 to 2019.
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