SMITHFIELD, N.C. -- A member of the county school board on Thursday said he will press ahead with his decision to turn over evidence of alleged wrongdoing to state investigators.

• A school board member says Johnston County Public Schools covered up instances of bribery, sexual harassment and a conflict of interest
• The board chair denies many of the claims and vows a thorough investigation
• Board member Ron Johnson says he will turn over his evidence to the SBI

Johnston County school board member Ron Johnson said the school district has a history of retaliating against employees who report wrongdoing. This is why a pair of female employees have gone directly to him with complaints of sexual harassment by a high-ranking district staff member.

Johnson's comments followed a news conference earlier in the afternoon in which board chair Todd Sutton said he was deeply troubled by the sexual harassment allegations and vowed to investigate them thoroughly.

Johnson said the district has also misrepresented the extent of its budget shortfall. He said the district's chief financial officer was directed to claim the shortfall was $5 million when it was in fact around $9 million.

A text message from Sutton to the board members in November read, in part “if that means people withheld information then we will have to deal with their poor decisions.” Sutton confirmed he sent the text message but said the board is still reviewing the issue. He said an audit found the district's finances were in good health.

Sutton also denied Johnson's claim the board had done nothing about a potential conflict of interest concerning one of its members. Johnson provided reporters with a number of emails from board member Tracie Zukowski, who is a sales executive for an educational resource company called Freckle. The emails, which Johnson said were sent after Zukowski became a board member, ask the district to buy Freckle's lesson management software. Sutton said Zukowski advised the board of this when she first was sworn in and asked her company to name a different sales executive to cover the county.

The SBI said it is not currently investigating any claims related to the school district. Any such request would have to go through a sheriff, chief of police, or district attorney. Johnson said if that is the case, he will hand over his evidence to the DA. He said he trusts either entity to conduct a thorough investigation.