This petition is to show a vote of no confidence of Comanche Academy Charter School board members and to ask for the immediate resignation of members Kathryn Briner, Marti Woothtakewahbitty, and John Harris. In addition, we request for the election bylaws to be amended to allow for parents and community members to vote in any Comanche Academy Charter School Board Members.

Comanche Academy Charter School is a public school in Oklahoma accredited by the Oklahoma State Department of Education. The framework for this school began as a vision by local community members. Community members saw a need for a different kind of school in Southwest Oklahoma where Native American children would be able to thrive in an environment where their indigenous roots and personal identity is the lens for their global outlook. This school would also serve as a major initiative to revitalize the near extinct Comanche language. Though the indigenous population is higher in Oklahoma than many other states, Native American students are still the minority at most schools. The need for a holistic education where focus is placed on traditional values, while students are learning other content areas, will be the key to academic achievement. While the overall, end goal for students is higher education and adult leadership positions. 

Through all of the challenges of building a school from the ground up, the school has not only survived but also began to thrive. The surrounding community support started to grow and it added an extra amount of encouragement to continue. This momentum did not last long, however, due to some school board members having so much control but not being aligned with the school's original mission. 

Half of the school board spent most of this school year pursuing a recall on members of the school's sponsor (without a sponsor, this school does not exist). Majority of the board has done many things to avoid being accountable to their governing authority, the sponsor, which is the Comanche Nation. Majority of the board have willingly not followed criteria in their own contract with the Comanche Nation, which includes following Comanche Nation laws and policies. Majority of the board have not followed and stayed in compliance with their own bylaws, which is their contract with the Oklahoma State Department of Education. The school board has not been in compliance with their own bylaws for almost an entire year. There are board members who have threatened and intimidated employees as well as lied about their involvement in unethical and unlawful behaviors. There are board members who have abused their position of power and incurred $89k worth of attorney fees. Most of the board have made decisions outside of legal quorum and changed 8 out of 12 regularly scheduled board meeting dates. They have engaged in conversations to make changes to board bylaws outside of meetings with legal quorum. The ramifications of the board actions has silenced the community's voice as they do not respond to parent/community member's complaints and needs. The board has amended its bylaws 8 times within 4 years of existence, but still does not comply with them. Board members are the only ones who can vote in new members and have kept the majority of the board the same for multiple years even though they have constantly and actively worked against the mission and vision of the school and remain in non-compliance against both their bylaws/contract with the Oklahoma State Department of Education and with their sponsor, the Comanche Nation. 

Parents and community members who support the school's mission and the work that the CACS staff has done have a vote of NO CONFIDENCE for the following three school board members. Parents and community members ask for the immediate resignation of Kathryn Briner, Marti Woothtakewahbitty, and John Harris from the school board. You all have no children attending Comanche Academy and have repeatedly shown that you do not care about the employees, students, families, and even Comanche Nation values. 

This petition is to show a vote of no confidence for Kathryn Briner, Martie Woothtakewaybitty, and John Harris. We request for the election bylaws to be amended to allow for parents and community members to vote in any Comanche Academy Charter School Board Member. Parents of Comanche Academy students and Comanche Nation community members demand the immediate resignation from the Comanche Academy School Board from members Kathryn Briner, Martie Woothtakewahbitty, and John Harris.