BA school board OKs audit of bidding, contracts

The Broken Arrow School Board unanimously authorized a special audit Monday to look into Air Assurance invoices as well as the district’s competitive-bidding practices, contracts signed by suspended Superintendent Jim Sisney, and the district’s athletic funds.

Business practices between the school district and Air Assurance, which had provided heating and air-conditioning services for the district, were questioned by Sisney this summer.

They are at the heart of a defamation lawsuit he filed against Mike and Narissa Rampey, owners of the company; Douglas Hudkins, a Broken Arrow optometrist; school board members Maryanne Flippo, Sharon Whelpley and Shari Wilkins; and attorney Doug Mann.

Sisney claims in the lawsuit that the defendants defamed him by accusing him of wrongdoing after he brought accounting irregularities to the board’s attention.

The lawsuit says the district has paid Air Assurance — a major contributor to the schools — $3.1 million since July 2002.

Sisney’s lawsuit also alleges that Air Assurance performed work at Hudkins’ office that was billed to Broken Arrow Public Schools.

Sisney says in the lawsuit that he felt pressured by certain board members to apologize to the Rampeys for inquiring into their business practices.

According to the lawsuit, Sisney was told in mid-August that Hudkins was openly accusing the superintendent of stealing from the district and blaming it on the Rampeys.

The school board voted 3-2 last week to suspend Sisney and send him written notification of the reasons for his possible termination. Neither that letter nor the reasons for the actions have been made public.

The three board members who are defendants in the lawsuit voted for Sisney’s suspension.

Also at Monday’s meeting, the board voted 3-2 to remove two agenda items dealing with legal representation.

One item was a request that Mann recuse himself and that his law firm, Rosenstein, Fist and Ringold, appoint another attorney to represent the district. The other was a discussion of fees to the firm. Both measures had been put on the agenda by board member Stephanie Updike.