New HPS school chief steps up – again

By Charles Sercombe
The Hamtramck Public School District’s game of musical chairs over who will be the next acting superintendent continues.
A few weeks ago, the board bid goodbye to Interim Superintendent Michael Williamson, and hired the district’s new financial chief, James Larson-Shidler, to take over the role.
Previously, Shidler came from the Birmingham Public School District, where he was Assistant Superintendent of Finance. He left the district when a controversy erupted over the district facing a $14-million deficit.
There was plenty of finger-pointing over whose fault it was for the unexpected deficit, and Shidler ended up taking an unexplained leave of absence, and then eventually resigning, according to media reports.
The district has required interim superintendents since Superintendent Jaleelah Ahmed went on a paid medical leave in February, after receiving a poor job performance evaluation from the school board.
She was supposed to come back in March but her leave of absence was extended; however, no explanation was given for that extension.
As for her future with the district, The Review reached out to Shidler for comment, and he replied via email:
“We do not discuss confidential personnel matters with the press. To avoid unnecessary speculation, however, we can confirm that there is no change in Mrs. Ahmed’s employment status and that Mrs. Ahmed has not been suspended.
“We appreciate your concern, ask that you respect her privacy, and look forward to seeing her back at the administrative building real soon.”
This is not the first time Ahmed has taken a leave of absence.
A couple of years ago, she took a few months off, citing pressure from dealing with the covid pandemic. When she was scheduled to return, the board placed her on paid suspension, but no reason was offered to the public for this move.
The board then hired Nabil Nagi, the district’s then English Language Development Director, as interim superintendent. Several months went by before Ahmed returned last January.
Nagi was then placed on suspension, but again, no reason was given. He has since filed a lawsuit against the district to regain his former job.
Ahmed is also suing the district and school teachers’ union over when she was placed on paid suspension. Ahmed is paid over $200,000 a year.
During her tenure, the district purchased two buildings, the former People’s Community Services, located at 8633 Jos. Campau; and the former Social Security building, at 9324 Conant.
The Jos. Campau building was purchased for $527,500, and the Conant building was purchased for a little over $1.4 million.
At the time, in 2021, Ahmed hailed the purchases, saying they “bring a sense of renewed hope for the future of our district, and (are) another step toward giving our students all of the tools they need to succeed. …”
Neither building has yet been put to any use by the district.
Also, during her tenure, there was an exodus of experienced teachers and staffmembers, many of them citing a “toxic” work environment created by Ahmed and one of her administrators.
The district has also lost a couple of hundred students, causing a resultant loss of millions of dollars in state financial aid.
On top of that, voters last year twice overwhelmingly rejected the district’s attempt to get a millage renewal, which has resulted in the loss of a further $900,000 per year in revenue.
The district plans to seek the renewal of a different millage this year, which would bring in over $2 million a year.
Posted May 24, 2024