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 Article of Interest - Oakland Schools

Redmond stripped of duties
by Diana Dillaber Murray, The Oakland Press, January 11, 2003

For more articles visit www.bridges4kids.org


Although Oakland Schools Superintendent James Redmond retains his title, the duties and authority of the position have been transferred to Deputy Superintendent Dan Austin.

The Board of Trustees of the intermediate school district made no decision to terminate or discipline Redmond after an almost five-hour closed meeting Friday evening, which was scheduled to discuss his status.

 

Trustee Janet Thomas said during a break that Redmond's responsibilities had been transferred prior to Friday's meeting.

 

Thomas said she did not know whether the board would make any additional decisions regarding Redmond at its regular meeting 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.

 

The board also discussed Friday how it plans to deal with other issues addressed in an investigation by The Whall Group, an Auburn Hills-based forensic investigative firm. Board President Helen Prutow said after the closed meeting that the trustees will examine all 16 recommendations made in the Whall report on Tuesday.

 

Though Redmond, 51, is no longer responsible for the workings of the intermediate school district, he will continue to receive his nearly $274,000 annual salary and perks. His contract, which protects him from being fired for any reason, including wrongdoing, doesn't expire until Sept. 1, 2006.

 

A clause in Redmond's previous contract, which expired in 2002, would have allowed the Board of Education to fire him mid-term for "acts of moral turpitude," but that was removed in June from his new contract.  Board members argue, however, that Redmond could be terminated for any violation of Oakland Schools board policy despite the fact that a termination clause is not included in his contract.

 

The board's decision to transfer Redmond's duties comes in the wake of a six-month investigation by The Whall Group. The group has been looking into employee allegations against him since July.  Specifically, the probe has targeted Redmond's role in the MINDS Institute, a nonprofit education materials production company that has ties to related, for-profit companies.

 

Redmond is chairman of MINDS, which is funded by the Oakland Schools, and in turn pays for the work of the MINDS Institute's for-profit group affiliates. Farmington Hills-based consulting firm DataServ, one of those affiliates, employs Redmond's son and the daughter of Assistant Superintendent Jan Van Dam. The MINDS Institute was founded in 2000 by Redmond and several others, including representatives of DataServ, which Oakland Schools hired to oversee the installation of a $13 million fiber optic system. Redmond has long denied any wrongdoing. While the report raised many questions, it did not cite any of Redmond's actions as criminal.
 

The Whall Group also has looked into the legality of funding for the new, $29 million Oakland Schools headquarters building under construction on Pontiac Lake Road in Waterford Township. The district now operates out of a building at 2100 Pontiac Lake Road, but plans to move to the new building across the street. In addition to his salary and benefits, Redmond also will continue to receive other perks outlined in his four-year contract.

 

The five-member school board, whose members are elected by local districts' school boards, sets policy and is charged with hiring the superintendent to run day-to-day operations. Members are: President Helen Prutow and trustees Tony Rothschild, DiAnne Cagle Leitermann, Carol Borich and Thomas.

 

Friday marked the fifth closed meeting of the district's Board of Education to discuss The Whall Group's findings. Neither Redmond nor his attorneys attended the meeting. To date, the investigation into Redmond's work has cost the district more than $130,000, which doesn't include the cost of school district-paid attorneys. Redmond has asked that each meeting be private, which is his right under the personnel exemption of the Open Meetings Act, Prutow has said.

Oakland Schools oversees special education and technical education programs throughout Oakland County and offers the county's 28 local public school districts a variety of services including pupil accounting and auditing services, standardized testing analysis and consulting on a wide variety of educational topics.

 

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NOTE: (ALL RESOURCES PRE-IDEA 2004 ARE FOR INFORMATIONAL/HISTORICAL RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY)