Utah State Board of Education members say they got rid of the board's two auditors this week because they want to move in a new direction. But the auditors believe they were terminated because they opposed attempts to limit their independence to monitor Utah's educational system.

Kent Mohlman, who worked as an auditor for the state board for more than 18 years, said he was forced to retire Monday, and Tim Salazar, who joined the office about a year ago, was terminated Monday after the board voted in a closed meeting on May 1 to let them go. Before that meeting, the auditors gave board members a letter expressing concerns over proposed changes to audit procedures that they said would jeopardize their independence.

Both former auditors say they also suspect they were forced out because of a disagreement with State Superintendent Patti Harrington about an audit of school community councils they released in December. They say Harrington told them to change their findings. But the auditors say they refused to make all the changes.

"She threatened our jobs and said she had the eyes and ears of the board and would take us down," Mohlman said.

Harrington said she criticized a draft of that audit for lacking evidence and for grammatical and spelling mistakes. But she denied threatening the auditors' jobs.

"I indicated to them I thought the board would expect to have an evidence-based audit, and instead of opinions and suggestions, they include evidence behind their claims," Harrington said.

Salazar said the disagreement had to do with what the state office's role was in the oversight and training of school community councils, which make decisions about how to spend school trust land money. Ultimately, Harrington said the state board decided to go with a legislative auditor's opinion that training of school community councils should be mainly a local responsibility and not a state one.

In an e-mail Harrington sent Monday, she said the personnel changes were "not due to malfeasance or any financial concern."

Board chairwoman Debra Roberts said the board's decision to remove the auditors had nothing to do with the community councils audit or the letter they wrote to board members on May 1. Instead, she said the auditors were let go because the board wants to move in a more efficient direction.

The board, she said, wants auditors to focus more on Utah's education system in general, rather than just the state office, and spend more time doing risk-analysis and performance audits rather than financial ones. She said the board would like to work with future auditors to do a better job of identifying weaknesses in house, rather than learning of problems from legislative auditors.

A recent legislative audit found criminals working in Utah schools because of inadequate checks and screening processes.

"It's always nicer when you discover your mistakes yourself," Roberts said.

Roberts said part of the problem is that the board's audit committee members don't have day-to-day contact with auditors, which makes it difficult to supervise them. That, she said, is part of the reason the board is considering some procedural changes and, possibly, contracting with outside auditors rather than having internal ones.

The procedural changes, which Salazar and Mohlman openly opposed, would include making state office employees members of the audit committee, which directs auditors. Another proposed change would have internal auditors reporting to the superintendent rather than only to the board, as they have been doing.

Mohlman and Salazar told board members before they were removed that it wouldn't make sense for them to report to the person who runs the system they're charged with auditing. Instead, they said, auditors should continue reporting only to the superintendent's superiors, education board members.

"I don't know how you can have people you audit on the audit committee," Mohlman said.

The board discussed the procedural changes Friday but ultimately delayed making a decision so they'd have more time to consider the changes. Roberts said she'd be open to the superintendent being more involved with internal auditors. Board member Greg Haws, on the other hand, doesn't believe internal auditors should report to the superintendent because it would present a conflict. Harrington said she would also prefer not to directly supervise auditors, saying there should be some "distance between internal auditors and the CEO of an organization."

The board will likely discuss the issue again at its next meeting in June.

The board has not yet filled Mohlman or Salazar's positions. Roberts said the board will likely work with outside auditors at least in the short term until board members decide exactly how they want future audits handled.