Despite losing her seat on the Tulsa Public Schools board, former member E’Lena Ashley is still on the agenda after appealing her lawsuit against the district to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
Ashley, former board member Jennettie Marshall and a charter school parent alleged TPS manipulated the hiring process for Superintendent Ebony Johnson in 2023 by subverting the state’s open meetings law.
After more than two years of litigation and $550,000 in legal fees, TPS won the lawsuit after the judge granted a summary judgment in favor of the district. A summary judgment resolves a lawsuit without going to trial.
But the legal battle continues. Ashley and Marshall filed an appeal Monday, citing several decisions by the court as reason to reconsider summary judgment in the case. They say they were wrongfully barred from suing in their capacity as former board members and from disqualifying the district’s team of attorneys. The case also saw a revolving door of judges due to a string of recusals, reassignments and a retirement.
Ashley’s successor, former Tulsa City Councilor Connie Dodson, was sworn in Wednesday. Her first action on the board came in executive session to discuss Ashley’s lawsuit, among others.
TPS filed a motion in district court April 10 requesting Ashley and Marshall fork over $9,014 in costs related to the original suit, including court reporter fees, thousands in copying costs and expenses related to lengthy depositions.
The “egregious at times and utterly confusing at other times” legal conduct of Ashley and Marshall drove up the cost of litigation, reads the motion.
“Plaintiffs Marshall and Ashley, and their attorney, Maria Seidler, were never simply swept up by the litigation machine, they were the litigation machine,” the motion reads. “While it can never restore the money the District had to divert to this litigation to prevail, a cost award reminds those who force needless litigation that there are financial consequences to litigating and losing.”
Following the swearing-in of Dodson and incumbent Susan Lamkin — who defeated challenger Michael Phillips — the board re-elected Lamkin and Calvin Moniz as board president and vice president, respectively.
In addition to Ashley’s appeal, the board also discussed two federal lawsuits.
One involves a former campus police officer, Keenan Meadors, who sued the district for age discrimination in 2020. After more than six years, the district reached a settlement with Meadors at the end of March. The board voted 6-0 to approve the settlement Wednesday, with board member Kyra Carby abstaining. According to court records, a joint motion for agreed judgment will be filed April 20.
The other case was filed in February by a special education parent and alleges “a culture of abuse and neglect” in the district led to the assault of her child with disabilities. The case has broadened since the initial filing.
An amended version filed Friday alleges TPS staff across the district routinely become physical toward students with disabilities, sometimes “yelling, taunting, dragging, pinching, slamming, and even biting” or resort to secluding them away from other students.
The board voted unanimously to proceed in the case Wednesday but did not publicly share what next steps are involved. TPS has flatly disagreed with the lawsuit’s claims in public statements and court filings.
Disclaimer: Keenan Meadors was represented in court by attorney Jim Goodwin, who serves on the Tulsa Flyer’s board of directors and owns The Oklahoma Eagle.
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