ANN ARBOR, MI - An Ann Arbor Public Schools principal said a police report filed by the district alleging she authorized extra pay for a janitor with whom she had a sexual relationship is “substantially false," tarnishing her name and reputation.
New exhibits in a federal lawsuit filed June 5 allege Lawton Elementary Principal Shannon Blick, who was placed on leave in April 2019, had authorized paying janitor Willie Johnson wages to be a lunch room supervisor, in addition to wages he earned through his contracted employer, ABM Custodial Company.
An investigative summary the school district submitted to the Ann Arbor Police Department indicated Johnson received $24,879 from the district from the time Blick authorized hiring him as a lunch room supervisor in October 2014 until he was removed from the position in February 2019.
During that time, Ann Arbor Public Schools alleges Johnson submitted time cards claiming he worked up to four hours per day as a lunch room supervisor during the same eight-hour shift for which he was paid by ABM as a custodian at Lawton Elementary.
Johnson, 62, of Belleville, was arraigned March 4 in Washtenaw County District Court on a felony complaint alleging larceny by false pretense between $1,000 and $19,999. The charge carries a possible maximum penalty of five years in prison. A probable cause conference for Johnson is set for July 16.
Ann Arbor school district files police report after principal files discrimination lawsuit
Blick in a court affidavit alleged the report Ann Arbor Public Schools filed with police was “substantially false” and was filed a day after the school district received her original federal lawsuit complaint July 20, 2019.
During a hearing on a motion to dismiss the lawsuit June 9, U.S. District Judge Stephanie Dawkins Davis noted that the court has not yet ruled on whether the new supplemental materials filed will be considered by the court.
During the hearing, Blick’s attorney Will Tishkoff said his client still hasn’t been given any specific reason she has been put on leave outside of an April 26, 2019 letter from the district notifying her of “allegations of fraud and potential misconduct.” Blick has not been charged with any crimes related to the allegations.
“(After) 13 months, (Blick) is still at home and there is no charge at all to her of any criminal wrongdoing,” Tishkoff said. “She has been horribly blackballed in the education community.”
Blick alleges in the lawsuit filed last July that she faced racial discrimination, was forced into paid leave, stripped of her duties as principal and deprived of her right to free speech when she was asked to tell supporters not to comment on her behalf at a public school board meeting.
The lawsuit alleges the district “constructively terminated” Blick on April 26 when it forced her to take leave, in part, it claims, because she is white and Assistant Principal Taneia Giles, who is black, wanted Blick’s job.
Ann Arbor Public Schools’ attorney Robert Vercruysse argued no adverse actions have been taken against Blick by placing her on paid administrative leave, and noted that the lawsuit lacks detail in its claim of reverse discrimination.
“When you just make conclusory allegations without identifying a specific policy; a time when that policy was employed; an individual suffered harm as a result of that policy; and there is no comparable of the other race, then you really don’t have a case,” Vercruysse said.
The district alleges Blick authorized Johnson’s hiring as a lunch room supervisor during the same hours he was employed as a custodian, despite neither payroll nor human resources being notified that Johnson was employed by a third-party contractor.
A sworn affidavit filed by Blick denies the allegation, stating that the payroll department for Ann Arbor Public Schools processes all paychecks to staff; the hiring of all staff occurs within human resources; and, while individual principals may make recommendations, hiring decisions are made at a higher level, superseding the scope of authority of the principal position.
Ann Arbor Public Schools told police Johnson’s work in the lunch room increased from one hour per day to four hours per day over the four-year period, although the district did not have access to ABM payroll records. Student breakfast and lunch periods at Lawton are about two-and-a-half hours per day, the district noted in its internal investigation.
During the 2015-16 school year, Lawton Elementary office professional Robin Brown informed Blick she was concerned about Johnson’s hourly pay as a lunch room supervisor, according to the documents filed in court. Brown stated that she had never seen a custodian be paid for that job and that it was the custodian’s job under contract to clean the cafeteria during that time, the school district’s investigation summary stated.
Janitor charged with stealing from Ann Arbor Public Schools
In a meeting with district Human Resources Director Shonta Langford and Linden on Feb. 25, 2019, the district alleges Blick admitted Brown notified her of concerns that Johnson was claiming too many hours as a lunch room supervisor, the school district’s investigation summary stated.
The district alleges Blick and former Assistant Principal Dante Watson spoke to Johnson and told him he was only permitted to work one hour, though Watson denies that meeting ever occurred, according to the district’s investigation summary to police.
The district alleges that Blick stated she believed Johnson could work for the district as a lunch room supervisor for one hour per day, but she did not consult with human resources to verify whether this violated the Fair Labor Standards Act, Wage and Hour laws or any collective bargaining agreement provision.
Blick in her affidavit claimed that Linden had previously given permission to principals to invite “any" adult who worked at a school in a different capacity to work in the lunchroom.
Blick alleges Johnson was approved to work in the Lawton Elementary lunchroom during his lunch breaks by human resources on Dec. 14, 2014, similar to other teachers, paraprofessionals and student teachers, citing a district personnel action form included in the latest filing.
The Ann Arbor police investigation stated Blick allowed Johnson to continue working in the lunch room from 2016 through February 2019 without verifying his time cards, despite being notified he was claiming more than one hour per day as a supervisor.
Brown again became concerned about the building’s depleted budget for the lunch room in February 2019, notifying Assistant Principal Taneia Giles, who started an investigation that uncovered Blick had been paying Johnson out of the lunchroom budget from 2015 to 2019, the police investigation stated.
A full investigation by the district ensued, with Blick being placed on paid administrative leave. Linden said the district has nine months of pay documents signed by Blick, authorizing four hours of pay per day to Johnson.
Blick claims that a district policy change in September 2018 required that principals review and sign time sheets prior to office professionals submitting them to the district business office, and that she only signed Johnson’s timesheets provided to her by Brown over a total of 10 weeks, between September 2018 to February 2019.
According to the Ann Arbor police investigation, when asked about a motive for the additional payment, Linden advised that when Langford contacted Johnson’s supervisor, Michael Williams, he disclosed that Johnson told him he and Blick had been in a sexual relationship.
Linden told police she was unclear if there was truth to the statement. Ann Arbor Public Schools’ investigation summary states that Giles reported being present when Blick called Johnson in February 2019 to tell him, “hey love, you can’t get paid anymore," and that his lunch room supervisor duties ceased.
Both Blick and Johnson have signed notarized statements denying that they had a sexual relationship. Blick’s affidavit stated that Giles’ allegation was false and that she has never referred to anyone as a “lover,” “not even my husband,” and that she only told Johnson during the phone call that he "no longer can work in the lunchroom.”
Ann Arbor Public Schools spokesman Andrew Cluley said the district does not comment on pending litigation.
READ MORE:
Principal files $5M lawsuit claiming Ann Arbor schools discriminates against whites
Mystery surrounds principal’s leave from Ann Arbor elementary school
Mysteriously removed Ann Arbor elementary principal still waiting for answers
"pay" - Google News
June 10, 2020 at 06:28AM
https://ift.tt/2BLZhyV
Report alleging affair, improper pay boost for janitor ‘substantially false,’ Ann Arbor principal says - MLive.com
"pay" - Google News
https://ift.tt/301s6zB
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Report alleging affair, improper pay boost for janitor ‘substantially false,’ Ann Arbor principal says - MLive.com"
Post a Comment