LOCAL & STATE
Gary Lee
Jennettie Marshall, Tulsa Public School Board member, District 2. Photo Provided by Jennettie Marshall
The slur that the white driver of a school bus made to the African American teenage rider was loud and clear. He called her a “Black B—-.”
Jennettie Marshall, then a 16-year-old junior at Bishop Kelley High School in south Tulsa, was riding the bus and overheard the insult. And she wasn’t having it. This is not right, she thought. Something has to be done.
Marshall galvanized the small collective of African American students at the school and led them in a protest. She called the Tulsa news media to cover the event. School administrators responded by removing the driver from the bus route that carried those students. “What was important is that the school authorities were put on alert that there were some issues they needed to pay attention to.”
But something of more significant consequence happened that day. The episode launched Marshall on a mission to call out the wrongs in Tulsa Public Schools. Five decades later, Marshall is still on that mission.
Senior Member of School Board
Elected to the Tulsa School Board in 2016, Marshall is the longest serving member of the board – a panel of seven elected officials charged with overseeing the running of all 77 Tulsa Public Schools. She makes it her business to push for high standards in education and facilities for the schools in her district, which is composed of more than a dozen schools, including several institutions that have been vital for northsiders – McLain, Central High School, Burroughs, and Hawthorne Elementary among others. But Marshall’s dominion on the board is not limited to North Tulsa. She is the self-styled watchman for all TPS schools.
Marshall’s high profile, outspoken manner, and sometimes controversial positions on the school board have elevated her to be a significant figure in public education in the Tulsa school system – the largest school district in Oklahoma. Her blunt warnings and direct style during school board meetings often put her at odds with other school board members. However, in Tulsa’s Black community, which places a high premium on public education, Marshall is regarded as a champion of providing kids the best possible learning environment. Her deep roots in Tulsa’s Black community and close bonds with many advocates committed to improving conditions in north Tulsa have earned her a position as a community leader.
In an interview with The Oklahoma Eagle, St. Rep. Regina Goodwin (District 73) summed up the sentiments of many in the community about Marshall.
“She has long been informed, engaged, and ethical,” Goodwin said. “She cares for children, families, and education far beyond the call of duty. She does her homework.”
The Oklahoma Eagle Print Edition Cover, August 25, 2023. Illustration. The Oklahoma Eagle
Righting Wrongs At TPS
In recent months, Marshall has been more intent than ever to provide leadership to a school system facing challenges. Among other issues, the Oklahoma State Board of Education, under the leadership of Superintendent for Public Instruction Ryan Walters, continues to threaten a takeover of TPS; the results of a state audit of TPS are looming; students across Tulsa are struggling to improve performance. As part of her campaign to right the wrongs in TPS, Marshall has called out several glaring irregularities with the administration of the school district and the school board.
In 2022, when she noted something suspicious in transactions made by school board administrators, she requested a state audit of TPS finances. In July of that year, Gov. Kevin Stitt accused TPS of mismanaging public funds and instructed State Auditor Cindy Bird to conduct a special audit of TPS. In January 2024, when she and fellow Board Member Elena Ashley noted that the local school board had violated major procedures they were required to follow, they filed a lawsuit against the Tulsa Public School Board alleging several severe infarctions, including that the panel’s appointment of Dr. Ebony Johnson from interim to permanent superintendent in December 2023. The suit questions the validity of procedures used to elevate Johnson from acting to permanent superintendent of schools. It also alleges that the Board frequently violated the Open Records Act.
Many of the findings of these – and other – investigations that Marshall has pushed for are due to be released soon and could cause upheaval in the leadership of both TPS and the school board.
In an interview with The Oklahoma Eagle, Marshall explained that she was compelled to file the lawsuit after watching the board repeatedly violate rules and regulations.
For example, in its December 2023 meeting, the Board voted to suspend the rule that it should employ a national search for the position of Superintendent. Instead, it elevated Johnson to the role.
“I’ve watched this board over and over violate the Open Meetings Act, particularly the executive session portion of that act. There’s a point when, if we don’t start to correct what we’re doing, how can we hold ourselves accountable? How can I hold parents accountable? How can I hold students accountable? Because accountability flows both ways. So, for me to file, it was a statement that enough is enough.”
Is Marshall At Odds With Johnson?
Citing the procedure used to promote Johnson as faulty and calling for a new national search puts Marshall at odds with the new superintendent. Both are hard-driven African American women in powerful, high-profile positions: Johnson is the first African American woman to be named permanent superintendent of schools. Marshall is the most senior elected representative on the school board. Some members of Tulsa’s Black community are concerned that Marshall’s position might result in the toppling of Johnson.
In the interview with The Oklahoma Eagle, Marshall said that she is not opposed to Johnson. She championed Johnson’s rise to the top of TPS. She objected to the Board’s procedure to select Johnson as permanent administrator. She is open to the possibility that, following a national search, Johnson might emerge as the best candidate for the position of TPS superintendent.
Yet, Marshall is aware that some community members feel she should treat Johnson more favorably because both are African American. “Some say ‘you threw a Black sister under the under the bus? No, I did not,” said Marshall
“But I don’t fall in or go along to get along. I’m not Rodney King. I’m going to analyze the information and make an informed decision based on what I know. And then that’s what I’m going to stand on.”
In explaining her position about Johnson, Marshall recalled a conversation between the two of them before she and school board member Ashley launched the lawsuit questioning the procedures used to elevate Johnson to permanent superintendent.
“I told her I can’t support you. Not now. Maybe later, but not now. People should know by now I’m very open. I’m very transparent. I did not allow her to attend that meeting, believing I would change my mind.
Marshall is equally prudent in evaluating Johnson’s performance in her first few months as TPS administrator.
“When we look at the leadership of the school system and the way that things are going now, the jury is still out,” she said. “I’m just waiting. There are happenings behind the scenes that I can’t speak on. I am praying for the leadership and the district to be as transparent as possible.“
Financial Issues at TPS
Marshall is more direct in her critique of the financial mismanagement at TPS. In recalling her decision to recommend a state audit in 2022, she said, “You didn’t have to be an accountant or a CPA or anything like that to see that something was not correct in significant transactions that were made. All I knew was that the wording and the verbiage were off. And when I would ask for specific information, I couldn’t get it. It was then I knew something was wrong with how the district was carrying itself regarding money. I may not have known precisely what it is. But I could point you to where you needed to look. And those are the areas where big issues (are) coming out of now.”
And how. Earlier this month, reports emerged that Devin Fletcher, former chief talent officer at TPS and a member of the cabinet of Deborah Gist, Johnson’s predecessor as superintendent at TPS, had embezzled more than $600,000 from Tulsa school funds. Fletcher has pled guilty. The investigation is ongoing.
The state auditors have looked closely at TPS’s financial transactions over several years to determine the extent of infractions. The auditor said the findings would be released soon. Marshall has high hopes for the findings.
“Number one, I believe that the department head is not going to operate based on what I call friendships and kinships. I think that they’re going to be thorough. I expect that there are things that still have yet to come out. And I believe that they’re going to make recommendations.”
Marshall Critical of TPS Board
In Marshall’s view, the leadership of the current school board, including Board President Stacey Woolley and Vice President John Croisant, was too closely tied with the administration of former Superintendent Gist. She feels that their loyalty to the past regime has marred their ability to acknowledge the errors and mismanagement that took place during Gist’s tenure.
“If the board didn’t know what was happening, it was because they did not want to. Their history has been one of not knowing. And when they did find out what things happened, their history was to help cover it up.”
Against that background, Marshall feels the need for new members on the board with fresh perspectives is urgent. The school board election on April 2 presents an opportunity for the public to bring in new members who are not saddled with the past. Three of seven seats on the board – for Districts Two, Five, and Six – will be decided in Tuesday’s election. Marshall is not endorsing any candidate. She urged voters to look closely at the candidates’ records and get out to vote.
Optimistic For the Future
As Marshall moves forward in her bid to set the course of Tulsa’s leadership on a better track, she is clear about what’s at stake: the education of a generation of Tulsa school kids.
She urged everyone in the community to be better informed and actively monitor and participate in school board forums.
“Parents – and everyone in the community — need to be concerned about everything regarding the school system, whether it’s academics or whether it’s the district’s finances,” she said. “Everyone needs to get on the TPS website and watch what the Board is considering and voting on. They need to police this district. Whether they have a child in TPS or not, people in the community need to be engaged because the school district receives money from us all. The bottom line is that we cannot have outstanding academics unless your school board is the steward, and the governance team must be or should be over the finances,” said Marshall.
“Parents have to go deeper. They must ask how my child is doing academically. His or her behavior may be in check, but how are they performing academically? Then they should participate by volunteering at the school.”
Marshall is optimistic that with the community’s engagement and vigilance, TPS can steer positively through the storms it faces.
As she considers those storms , she recalls the lessons learned in her early activism days as a Tulsa school student.
“If we as a community bond and stay on top of it,” she said, “things will eventually get on the right course.”
Gary Lee, managing editor of The Oklahoma Eagle, attended Tulsa Public Schools and comes from a family of teachers. He believes that strong public schools are vital to Tulsa.
