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Grosse Pointe— A discussion of a human resources complaint against a trustee and subsequent investigation was the focus of a Grosse Pointe Public School System Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 27, where two spectators nearly got into a fight.
The issue first came to light during a board meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 6, when trustee Valarie St. John said a current board member had made “racist and sexist comments and engaged in retaliatory behavior against some of our administrators.” , we didn’t do” anything about it. “
She was talking about human resources complaints against then-President Ahmed Ismail, now the board’s vice chairman. The Grosse Pointe News has made a Freedom of Information Act request to the district seeking a report from its investigation into the complaints.
Board Chairman Sean Cotton laid out a timeline at the start of last week’s meeting to more fully explain what happened.
August 25, 2023
The board received a letter from Grosse Pointe South High School baseball coach Dan Griesbaum Sr. requesting that the Grosse Pointe North High School athletic field be named after Frank Sumbera. He coached baseball and football at North for 49 years and was inducted into both sports’ Coaches Hall of Fame. It was co-signed by several current and former coaches from both high schools.
August 27, 2023
The district received a formal complaint from “Staff A.”
August 28, 2023
The district received a formal complaint from “Staff B.”
Cotton said both men said they felt their jobs were threatened by board members, citing the cancellation of a proposed health clinic on the North Side and articles about Sambala Island in the Grosse Pointe News over the past six years. .
An independent investigator ultimately used the word “terminated” against Sambala, but the district said in a 2018 statement that he retired.
North School Principal Kathryn Murray and Athletic Director/Assistant Principal Michelle Davis, respectively, based on comments from Trustee Colleen Worden and remarks made during public comment. identified as the complainant.
September 12, 2023
The board held a closed meeting with District Attorney Clark Hill about the matter. Clark Hill recommended that the board authorize interim Superintendent Chris Fenton to hire an independent investigator, the law firm Miller Johnson.
September 14, 2023
Miller-Johnson began interviewing eight people on November 15, 2023, including Ismail.
October 29, 2023
Then-Vice President Lisa Pappas said in an email to all board members that she asked board attorneys Collins and Braha to be present when Miller-Johnson interviewed Ismael. She said she did so on the advice of Collins and Braha to protect the board’s interests and that board policy allowed her to assume presidential authority because Ismail was unable to make such a decision given his involvement.
Both St. John and Worden said they believed it was an inappropriate use of taxpayer funds. St. John also said at the Feb. 6 board meeting that she was unaware of Collins and Braha’s involvement until she saw the company’s invoices.
“At no time was Ahmed Ismail personally represented by the Board of Education’s legal counsel,” Cotton said. “They gave him no advice.”
January 4, 2024
Miller Johnson provided Fenton with its findings in a 27-page report.
January 16, 2024
Fenton provided the board with Miller-Johnson’s two-page executive summary and three-page decision letter. Cotton said Fenton and Clark Hill recommended that the full report not be made public.
“It contains the names of interviewees, which could hinder future investigations,” he said. “This may violate the expectation of confidentiality regarding such important matters.”
Cotton also said the district spent $33,511 in legal fees on the matter. That includes Miller Johnson, $15,675; Clark Hill, $12,910; Collins and Blaha, $4,926.
In a conversation with an unnamed administrator who is no longer with the district, Ismail said the board planned to “oust” Murray and Davis, according to Miller-Johnson. The summary shows that Ismail and the administrator were talking “at a time when the employee was considering a job offer away from GPPSS.”
Miller-Johnson also said that Ismail and the employee were the only two people present during the conversation. Ismail has since said he is in discussions with an assistant principal about taking a new job and is encouraging him to stay because there may be room for advancement at GPPSS due to possible retirement.
Miller-Johnson also determined that neither Ismail nor the board “took any action against Complainant that indicated an attempt to terminate” Complainant’s employment, but that Ismail “engaged in retaliatory conduct against Complainant.”
Fenton, however, disagrees with any retaliation.
“In support of this, he (Investigator Miller Johnson) cited two instances – one from each complainant – that could be construed as acts of retaliation,” Fenton wrote in the ruling. The explanation is a simple failure of communication. (The investigator’s) explanation of his conclusions was not adequately documented or convincing.”
Miller-Johnson also determined that Ismail’s comments were not “sexist” and said there was no evidence of “gender bias/harassment by the complainant.” The executive summary made no mention of racist comments.
As quoted in the Grosse Pointe News on February 15, 2024, St. John responded to questions about her previous remarks.
“You are correct that the executive summary makes no mention of the allegations of racism,” she said in an email. “The complainants had no reason to bring this specific issue to Human Resources, even though it was one of their concerns.”
St. John said at last week’s meeting that’s because the board is not considered a direct employer of district employees.
Fenton further recommended that Ismael, Murray and Davis engage in “restorative justice efforts” in facilitated meetings with third parties. Cotton said Ismail contacted Fenton and expressed interest in such an effort, but was unsure whether Murray or Davis did so.
“First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest apologies to those staff members who felt the need to lodge a complaint,” Ismail said after Cotton’s schedule was released. “Please understand that I have the highest respect for you and the entire Northern team. I sincerely apologize to both staff members… for causing anxiety to them personally and to the Northern community with my misunderstood comments.”
St. John and Worden, along with most who spoke during public comments, continued to urge the board to release the full Miller-Johnson report. About three dozen staff members from across the North, dressed in green, were on hand to support Murray and Davies.
The last person to speak during public comment spent the better part of three minutes chanting “release the report” more than 40 times, and was joined by several attendees.
Toward the end of the meeting, two speakers with differing views — including a 2022 board candidate — began shouting and approaching each other, requiring physical distance as they stood facing each other.
(Editor’s note: Cotton owns Grosse Pointe News.)
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