OETA to go with new partner
After a bitter dispute, OETA is cutting ties with its longtime charitable partner and will use a new nonprofit to raise funds for public television.
The network’s board of directors voted 9-0 Tuesday at a special meeting to terminate its relationship with the OETA Foundation.
The directors took the action a month after the foundation asked an Oklahoma County judge to get involved in the long-running conflict.
In a resolution, OETA’s directors called the lawsuit “an apparent attempt to damage OETA’s reputation among its donors and in the community and assert control over the operations of OETA.”
“OETA has determined that the relationship with the foundation has become untenable and termination of the agreement is the only viable option,” the directors said.
OETA is required to give the foundation 60 days’ notice of the decision. A new nonprofit, Friends of OETA Inc., already has been created to replace the foundation in fundraising.
The dispute between OETA and the foundation alienated donors and upset
viewers. The two have been partners more than 30 years and share the same building in Oklahoma City.
OETA is officially known as the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority. It is a statewide network that is supported by state appropriations and private donations.
It airs locally produced programming and PBS shows such as the popular “Sesame Street,” “Antiques Roadshow” and “Downton Abbey.” More than 2 million viewers tune in on a weekly basis, according to its website.
The foundation says it has provided more than $67.5 million to, or for the benefit of, OETA since 1989.
After the meeting, OETA Foundation President Daphne Dowdy called OETA’s action legally irrelevant.
“OETA was already not abiding by the agreement. They’ve already tried to evict us from our building. That’s all civil stuff,” Dowdy said. “As a foundation, we can and will continue to raise funds for public television in Oklahoma, including OETA.”
She said OETA refuses to be transparent on how it spends money. “The reason they don’t want me to work at the foundation is simply because the foundation demands accountability and transparency.”
OETA board includes education leaders
Both sides have made serious accusations against the other.
The dispute arose after the OETA called for a new agreement with the foundation to replace a 1992 memorandum of understanding. Foundation officials condemned the OETA’s proposal as a power grab.
In a news release Tuesday, the chair of the OETA board said cutting ties with the foundation was necessary because it had gone rogue after many positive, productive years. The chair, Garrett King, said OETA had tried in good faith for over two years to reach an amicable resolution.
“We took no joy in being forced to do so by the OETA Foundation’s reckless and damaging behavior,” King said of the agreement termination. “It is what we must do.”
On OETA’s board of directors are some of the state’s top educational leaders. Those present for the vote Tuesday included state schools Superintendent Joy Hofmeister, University of Oklahoma President James Gallogly, Oklahoma State University President Burns Hargis and Chancellor Glen Johnson of the State Regents for Higher Education.
The OETA Foundation asked donors to show up at the special meeting to voice their support. Almost 40 did Tuesday but were not allowed to make any official public comment.
Some spoke up anyway. “You should be ashamed,” one said. “How can you sleep?”
Standing by to provide security Tuesday were at least four Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers.
Most of the special meeting Tuesday was held behind closed doors. During the executive session, foundation supporters gathered on the foundation’s side of the building to watch a video critical of OETA.