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Democratic lawmakers joined Utah Republican Party Chairman James Evans and NAACP Salt Lake President Jeanetta Williams in calling for an audit of the Salt Lake City School District on Tuesday.
Standing outside the district's downtown offices, the group accused the school board of ceding its authority to its employees, violating Utah's public meetings laws.
"What you have is the administrators making these decisions out of the purview and authority of the board," Evans said. "The board takes no action. That's the problem."
Evans and Williams also criticized the school district in July for an administrative restructuring that requires that an equity and diversity officer report to a member of the superintendency, rather than directly to the district superintendent.
That issue was not specifically mentioned Tuesday, when requests were made of the state auditor and legislative auditor general to conduct performance and financial reviews of the school district.
"This will bring more and greater awareness to the issues that we've been fighting for," Williams said.
In a prepared statement, Salt Lake City School District spokesman Jason Olsen said the district welcomes any action that will clear up questions and confusion among community members.
"We are confident that any honest and unbiased review would reveal the district and the Board of Education have acted in an open and transparent manner," Olsen said, "and are focused on providing a quality education for students across the entire city."
Nicole Davis, spokeswoman for Utah Auditor John Dougall, said the auditor's office had not received the request but would evaluate it under the same process and criteria as any other issue raised by a resident of the state.
"At such time that we receive a request and any provided documentation, it will be reviewed and Mr. Dougall, Utah state auditor, will decide whether it is appropriate for the office to investigate further," Davis said.
Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, said there are persistent concerns that children on the city's west side — where the is a higher proportion of low-income households and racial diversity — are undeserved by the school district.
The audit is necessary, she said, to address a perceived lack of transparency regarding decisions that negatively affect students.
"I'm not pointing any fingers at anyone; I just want to know what the truth is," she said. "If everything is open and it's transparent, then there's nothing to worry about."
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