Broken Arrow School Parent Upset Results Of State Audit Not Yet Public

By Ashli Sims, The News On 6

BROKEN ARROW, OKLAHOMA -- A frustrated parent is upset that Broken Arrow's School Board now knows the results of an audit into the district, but she and other parents will remain in the dark for another two weeks.

Ronda Vuillemont-Smith confronted Broken Arrow's School Superintendent Wednesday, after a days' worth of meetings with the state auditor that she wasn't allowed to attend.

"They would not let me, they would not allow the public to be present and yet they would allow the attorneys to be present," said Ronda Vuillemont-Smith.

Smith wants to know the results of an investigative audit, requested by the school board about 16-months ago. The investigation began, after the district was accused of giving preferential treatment to vendor, Air Assurance.

The state Auditor says by law he's required to present the audit to the school board and wait for two weeks before releasing it to the public.

8/12/2010 Related story: State Representative, State Auditor Spar Over Broken Arrow Schools Audit

The auditor says it's not out of the ordinary for attorneys to be present.

"My client in this audit is Broken Arrow Public Schools," Steve Burrage, Oklahoma State Auditor, said. "This audit was requested by the school board."

The board members spoke with auditor's staff in three different sessions, but no one is talking about what was said.

The superintendent says they were not able to keep a copy of the audit.

"We have a great deal to digest and consider," Jarod Mendenhall, Broken Arrow Superintendent, said. "We will use the next two weeks to provide additional information and clarification to the auditor."

Smith just wants the information out so the district can move on.

"Lets try and put it behind us and move forward," Vuillemont-Smith said. "But quit trying to keep the parents out of it. Quit trying to hide, you know."

The Broken Arrow school district insists they're following the law. And they reiterate it's the school board who asked for this audit in the first place.

The audit is set to be released to the public on September 2nd.