State auditor says Rep. Mike Reynolds leaked audit draft to media

BROKEN ARROW, Okla. - State Auditor Steve Burrage has decided not to release an audit into the Broken Arrow School District. That report was supposed to be released Thursday night at a special school board meeting, but concerns over a leaked draft of the audit forced Burrage to scrap those plans. Burrage says state Representative Mike Reynolds is responsible for the leak of the draft. Burrage is now investigating who within his office gave the report to Reynolds. Reynolds denies the allegation that he leaked the draft to the media.

"Serious concerns regarding the independence of the special auditor assigned to this audit and the independence of the work papers associated with this audit raise sufficient doubt to call into question that which we in the auditing profession hold to the highest standard," said Burrage in an emailed statement.

The former district vendor in the middle of the controversy, Air Assurance owner Mike Rampey, is pleased with the decision.

Rampey's attorneys on Wednesday faxed a letter citing concerns about the audit's independence. Rampey also addressed the media at his company's shop in Broken Arrow.

"This leaked auditor's report implies that our company broke rules while providing work to the Broken Arrow Schools system, and it's just completely incorrect," said Rampey.

An independent audit last year cleared Air Assurance and the school district of doing anything illegal, but the board requested another audit from the state.

Both audits were driven by a lawsuit from a former superintendent. In September 2008, Dr. Jim Sisney sued several board members and Air Assurance for defamation. Sisney claimed they were violating competetive bidding laws. Soon after, the board fired Sisney, who has since filed a wrongful termination lawsuit.

Rampey's attorneys are also investigating how the draft was leaked.

No word when the audit will be released.

State Auditor Steve Burrage issued the following statement about the release of the audit:

After considerable thought and deliberation, I have decided, at this time, to withhold the release of the special audit of Broken Arrow Public Schools. Serious concerns regarding the independence of the special auditor assigned to this audit and the independence of the work papers associated with this audit raise sufficient doubt to call into question that which we in the auditing profession hold to the highest standard. The inappropriate release last week of a draft version of this audit report only compounds my concerns about independence. As a CPA, I believe in the Code of Conduct which guides our profession and I cannot, in good conscious, release a report which in any way calls into question our independence.

Our office received a special audit request letter from the Attorney General last week requesting an investigative audit of Broken Arrow Public Schools. I am assigning two, different special auditors to conduct this audit and we will work with all deliberate speed to complete the audit. The auditors will be able to address those issues of interest to the Attorney General as well as the concerns identified in the special audit request by the Broken Arrow School Board. The patrons of Broken Arrow will receive an audit and it will include our factual findings to the concerns regarding compliance with the competitive bidding act, potential split-purchasing and other matters.

  I want to stress that the special audit of Broken Arrow Public Schools is limited to the district, its internal controls structure, compliance with its policies and procedures, and its record keeping practices. The Broken Arrow Public Schools Board had already implemented many changes to address the issues and concerns they asked us to address in the audit. Subsequent to the timeframe covered by the audit, many changes have occurred in administration, school board members, and new policies have been implemented. The Board members and Dr. Mendenhall are also aware of the concerns raised in the report even though we cannot issue it at this time. I feel confident that all of these factors will work together to eliminate, or allow for the early detection of, non-compliance issues and the risk of waste, fraud, and abuse at Broken Arrow Public Schools.

Although the controversy that has consumed some school patrons and taxpayers of the Broken Arrow community may never be resolved satisfactorily to everyone, our only role in this matter is to present the facts and make proper recommendations to the Board for corrective action.

  I had truly hoped to be able to release the audit as scheduled but getting it right takes precedence. I want the audit out and I believe members of the school’s board and administration also want it out and it will happen, just not tomorrow.