The ongoing debate between officials of the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site and the Brown Foundation is not casting either of those entities, or Topeka, in a very positive light.

In large part, that’s because the public has very little real knowledge of the issues that have the foundation and the historic site facing off on opposite sides of the table after years of cooperation.

Information that might help inform the public apparently is contained in an audit of the foundation’s finances over a three-year period. The audit was requested by the Department of the Interior’s Office of the Inspector General and was conducted by an independent firm contracted by the National Park Service.

The park service has the finished audit, and a copy was furnished to the Brown Foundation on Dec. 1. To date, however, neither of those organizations has felt obliged to enlighten the public, although this newspaper is seeking a copy of the document through a Freedom of Information Act request.

A public affairs specialist for the park service says the Department of the Interior’s Office of the Inspector General still is reviewing the audit and it won’t be released before Jan. 2. The foundation has declined to release a copy of the audit, but officials there say they will comment fully when given approval to do so by the foundation’s legal counsel.

That’s a lot of hedging over the release of a document that’s been finished for some time. It should be released as soon as possible. Regardless of what’s in the audit, nothing good is being accomplished by delaying its release now.

Topekans and other people across the country who have read of the conflict between the historic site and foundation have no basis for forming an opinion on what has transpired — or what has not transpired — between the two entities. It’s time to let the public know everything officials with the foundation and the historic site know.

The Brown Foundation for Educational Equity, Excellence and Research was established in 1988. According to its website, its mission is to build upon the work of those involved in the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision that racial segregation of schools was unconstitutional and to keep the tenets and ideals of Brown relevant for future generations through programs, preservation, advocacy and civic engagement.

The Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site was dedicated on May 17, 2004, 50 years after the court decision. The Brown Foundation was instrumental in pushing for establishment of the historic site and was given office space in the former Monroe Elementary School.

Cheryl Brown Henderson was founder of the Brown Foundation and served a stint as director of the historic site until she resigned following an investigation by the Department of the Interior’s OIG. Brown relinquished her position with the foundation during her time with the park service.

The investigation conducted by the Department of the Interior prompted the subsequent audit of the foundation’s finances. Park service officials also asked the foundation to find office space elsewhere, although they say the park service needed the space for other purposes.

Clearly, there’s information in the independent audit the public would be interested in knowing and has a right to know. It’s time to go public with it.