Suspension paid off for HPS chief

HPS Superintendent Jaleelah Ahmed

By Charles Sercombe
One of the first tasks the Hamtramck School Board undertook when the new year started was to bring back suspended Superintendent Jaleelah Ahmed.
But, at first, that attempt didn’t go so well.
In January, the board entertained two separate proposals, neither of which were originally on the meeting’s agenda, to consider hiring either of two candidates to take the role of superintendent.
Neither candidate was referred to by name, but only as “Candidate Number One” and “Candidate Number Two.”
But there appeared to be a give-away in describing Candidate Two by saying it would be the “immediate reinstatement” of the candidate.
That statement appeared to be a reference to Superintendent Ahmed,who had spent the previous year on paid suspension mandated by the board while an investigation was conducted. The board never explained what the nature of that investigation was.
Ahmed, in turn, filed a lawsuit against some board members and the Hamtramck teachers union.
Coincidentally, during that year, Boardmember Jihan Aiyash, an ally of Ahmed, missed most of the meetings. When she returned in January, Aiyash was appointed by the board as president.
Aiyash never explained why she was absent.
At that January meeting, both unnamed candidates failed to gain majority support of board members.
That didn’t stop the board from attempting again in February’s Committee of the Whole meeting, where once more the proposal to hire Ahmed was not on the meeting agenda.
This time, the proposal gained enough support, with only Boardmembers Victor Farris and Regan Watson in opposition.
(Boardmember Moortadha Obaid was absent.)
There was one catch to reinstating Ahmed – her reinstatement was “conditioned upon negotiation of a contract approved by the Board.”
There was no mention of requiring Ahmed to withdraw her lawsuit against the district, and it is still pending.
For Ahmed, that paid year off turned into a sweet deal. (The Review received copies of Ahmed’s employment contracts via a Freedom of Information Act request.)
At the beginning of her job as superintendent in 2019, she was paid a salary of $130,000, with the promise for her to become certified to hold the position, which she did. That contract was to last until 2020.
The next year her contract was extended to the year 2023, with a salary increase to $145,000 plus an extra $24,000 to provide “oversight” of the Recreation Department.
Prior to this, it was always the job of superintendents to oversee all departments, including recreation, at no extra pay.
When Ahmed came back this past February, her contract got even sweeter.
Her salary grew to $195,000, plus the $24,000 for overseeing the recreation department. The contract was extended to 2027, and if she receives a satisfactory evaluation each year, her contract is automatically extended one year.
If there is no yearly evaluation held, she also gets an automatic one-year contract extension.
Every year, she is also eligible for a 6 percent additional “merit” pay. If Ahmed is terminated, she will be paid for the remainder of her contract plus up to $25,000 in unused vacation time.
Ahmed has come under criticism in recent years for creating what some teachers and administrators say is a “toxic” work environment.
In one letter of resignation to the board, Heather Dorogi, the former Student Coordinator, said, in part:
“The current BOE (Board of Education) and superintendent have been nothing short of intentional in their deconstruction of individuals and central office teams.”
Several of those former staffmembers have filed lawsuits against Ahmed and the school board.
While there was some who criticized her, Ahmed does have her allies.
Community activist Bill Meyer welcomed her return.
“We’re excited to have her back,” Meyer said at February’s board meeting. “We want her back. We’ll have a big celebration … when she comes back on her rightful job.”
Besides her critics on staff, the district has been cited for failing to meet the needs of special education students. In some instances, parents were told to keep their children home, or the students were simply placed indiscriminately into classes with non-Special Ed students.
Several teachers have complained about their subsequent behavior problems, in some cases biting and scratching others.
This is has been an ongoing issue.
Posted Oct. 27, 2023