TULSA, Okla. — Two Tulsa Public School board members held a press conference to respond to and answer questions about the TPS audit.

The conference was held just days after the state auditor held her press conference, in which she claimed her office’s investigation had discovered hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of discrepancies in Tulsa Public Schools’ finances.

“You elect the board members. We work for you,” said District 3 TPS board member Dr. Jennettie Marshall. “The superintendent works for us, and the staff works for the district, and there must be accountability at all levels.”

Dr. Jennettie Marshall and E’lena Ashely reviewed the audit’s findings, explained some of the information that raised their eyebrows, and answered questions.

Dr. Marshall said, “The state auditor has been before us twice. Well, the state auditor gave you the information based on her investigation of the finances, but I believe it is incumbent on us that we help you understand how we got to this point.”

District 4 TPS board member E’lena Ashley said she thinks the financial committee should be held responsible for the financial discrepancies found in the audit and for what she calls a lack of transparency.

“It was their job to report, oversee, and make sure that each and every board member had available to them the information to make proper decisions on the board. That did not happen.”

This all comes after Governor Kevin Stitt’s request for an audit two years ago and, according to State Auditor Cyndi Byrd, due to former Chief Talent Officer Devin Fletcher’s financial wrongdoings, which caused $824,000 in mismanaged funds.

“I believe, as you’re hearing now, that just scratches the surface,” said Ashley.

Ashley said she hopes there will be a forensic audit following these findings because she believes there are more things to look into.

“We need to look at more of the structures, how curriculums are handled, how we choose vendors. These things should be outlined in every agenda that’s [used] when they are requesting these hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

Dr. Marshall said that after these findings, she hopes the involved people will be held accountable.

“What I hope for is that everybody who stole from children—I’m not talking about stole from a district, they stole from children in many ways—I hope and pray they are in orange jumpsuits with red bottoms on having a good time at the end of the day.”

TPS Superintendent Dr. Ebony Johnson said as soon as the board found out about the allegations against Devin Fletcher, he was immediately put on administrative leave.

Fletcher has since been convicted.

After the release of the audit, TPS said they have purchased an AI program that can detect fraud, increased transparency with the board and have hired their own auditor.