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Tulsa Public Schools board authorizes attorneys to pursue costs in pending lawsuit naming two plaintiffs
Summary
At its Feb. 23 meeting the Tulsa Public Schools Board authorized district attorneys to proceed in litigation (CV-2024-120) and to seek an award of costs against plaintiffs Jennettie Marshall and E'Lena Ashley after a closed executive session; the motion passed 6-0 with Ashley excluded from participation.
The Board of Education of Independent School District Number One of Tulsa County, Oklahoma, on Feb. 23 authorized the district's attorneys to proceed with pending litigation in Tulsa County District Court (Case No. CV-2024-120) and to pursue an award of costs against plaintiffs Jennettie Marshall and E'Lena Ashley. The motion to direct counsel was made by Stacey Woolley and seconded by John Croisant and carried 6-0; Board Member E'Lena Ashley was excluded from the board's defense and from participation in the matter under state statute.
The board first voted unanimously to enter executive session at 7:23 p.m. for confidential communications with counsel concerning the litigation, citing Title 25, O.S., § 307(B)(4). The executive session, which the minutes record as including board members (excluding Ashley), the clerk, the superintendent and outside counsel Eric Wade of Rosenstein Fist and Ringold, concluded and open session resumed at 8:00 p.m.
Upon return to open session, Board President Susan Lamkin read a statement summarizing the executive session: "the board conducted confidential communications between the board of education and its attorneys concerning pending litigation, to wit: Jennettie Marshall, E'Lena Ashley and Aaron Griffith v. Independent School District No. 1 of Tulsa County, Oklahoma, Tulsa County District Court, Case No. CV-2024-120, the board having been advised by its attorneys that disclosure will seriously impair the ability of the board to process the claims or conduct the litigation in the public interest, pursuant to Title 25, Section 307(B)(4) of the Oklahoma Statutes."
Ms. Woolley then moved that the district attorneys be authorized to pursue an award of costs against plaintiffs Jennettie Marshall and E'Lena Ashley; Mr. Croisant seconded the motion. The minutes record the vote in favor by Stacey Woolley, John Croisant, Susan Lamkin, Kyra Carby, Calvin Moniz and Sarah Smith (6-0). The minutes also record that the board had previously voted to exclude Board Member Ashley from executive-session participation and any vote or role in the district's defense, citing Title 70, Section 5-113.2 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
The action directs the district's legal team to proceed "in a manner consistent with the discussion in executive session," but the minutes do not detail the legal strategy or the grounds for seeking costs. The board did not announce a timetable for subsequent public filings or hearings. The next regular meeting is scheduled for March 9, 2026.
