9486 in the collection
Detroit school board president accused of sex act in meeting
Ohanian Comment: Now how does one argue against Eli Broad sending in Robert Bobb to take charge of the Detroit schools in the face of this kind of behavior? And it isn't as though this is the worst of the shenanigans of the Board.
I think this is the first time I've warned readers that the following post is X-rated.
I post this with great sadness. I grew up surrounded by school board news. My dad served on a school board for 25 years.
by Chastity Pratt Dawsey
Amid allegations that he fondled himself during a meeting with the schools superintendent, Detroit school board President Otis Mathis today admitted engaging in "inappropriate actions" but tried to rescind his resignation.
"As you know, I have made inappropriate actions toward a professional employee of the board. I deeply regret my actions. I have apologized to the employee involved," he wrote.
He said medical issues may have contributed to the incident. "I need to pursue treatment ... I want to make sure what happened doesn’t ever happen again."
The allegations set off a furor today.
"It's over. He's done. We have more important business to handle," Carla Scott, a member of the Detroit Board of Education, said. “We can't afford a circus."
DPS police were investigating allegations by schools Superintendent Teresa Gueyser that during a meeting at about 5 p.m. Wednesday, Mathis touched himself for 20 minutes, then unzipped his pants.
Gueyser, in a memorandum to the board, said she ended the meeting.
"I told him that there was no reason for us to continue the meeting with that behavior," she said.
Gueyser said the incident was the culmination of a long history of inappropriate behavior.
"This situation is now untenable and intolerable," she said.
Mathis resigned following the incident, effective immediately. In his resignation letter, he cited health issues as the reason for his resignation. However, he is seeking to rescind his resignation.
Read the Mathis letter of resignation
Read the complaint against Mathis
Read the Mathis letter to rescind resignation
Anthony Adams, the board's vice president, said he plans to proceed as if the resignation is final. The board will post notices that the position is open and then vote to appoint someone from Mathis district -- District 2, which encompasses southwest Detroit, Adams said.
At least one DPS board member said today he has no problem with Mathis remaining on the board amid allegations that he fondled himself in a meeting with the superintendent.
Reverend David Murray said Mathis took responsibility for his bad behavior toward Gueyser.
"He's a young man; maybe he didn't know it was offensive to her," Murray said of the 55-year-old Mathis. "It's not something I would do. He's a young man. That's just the way it is." [Murray is also 55 years old.]
Other board members, including Carol Banks and Carla Scott, do not agree with Murray's position.
Scott and Banks said there is no chance Mathis is returning to the board. He packed his office and turned in his key. His picture has been removed from the wall in the DPS main office.
Mathis and Gueyser did not return calls for comment.
Adams said the superintendent was interviewed by DPS police.
"Clearly, we are disappointed, but those are the alleged acts of an individual and should not reflect on the board as a whole. This board has been consistent with respect to trying to move academic achievement and will continue to do that," Adams said.
The DPS Office of Public Safety is investigating allegations of misconduct, spokeswoman Kisha Verdusco said.
In a memo recounting the incident, Gueyser alleged that she has had to leave meetings on several occasions due to similar behavior by Mathis in the past. "This is a usual habit of President Mathis during any private meeting with me … most times I try to ignore him," the memo alleges.
However, the memo alleges, Wednesday was different from other incidents because Mathis "unzipped his pants and pulled a handkerchief from his left pocket, put the handkerchief in his right hand and put his right hand in his unzipped pants again -- moving his hand as if to be masturbating in front of me."
The allegations come as the board is fighting for its survival as an elected body. Board members and Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb are in court today in an ongoing lawsuit. The board is alleging that Bobb, a state appointee who controls the budget, has illegally taken control of academics as well, rendering the board nearly powerless.
The board is also facing a petition drive that seeks to remove the school board and place the mayor in control of the district.
Tonight's special school board meeting will include discussion about the employment contract for Gueyser, which expires this month. Bobb sent her a nonrenewal notice, but board members have supported keeping her.
— Chastity Pratt Dawsey
Detroit Free Press
2010-06-18
http://www.freep.com/article/201006181225/NEWS01/100618036
INDEX OF OUTRAGES
Pages: 380
[1] 2 3 4 5 6 Next >> Last >>
