Tecumseh, MI – The Tecumseh Public Schools board acknowledged Kevin Johnson’s appointment on the board as invalid at a special meeting on Tuesday.
In a statement issued by Superintendent Rick Hilderley, Johnson… who was the board president… is no longer a member of the school board. As a result of this development, Vice President Tony Rebottaro will assume the office of president for the remainder of the term.
Hilderley has requested the Lenawee Intermediate School District to fill the vacant seat by the end of April. Recently, Superintendent Hilderley was made aware of an allegation which eventually led to Johnson’s appointment being deemed invalid.
Superintendent Hilderley’s statement on the removal of the board member: “On Monday, March 22, I was contacted by a TPS Board member and told that they had recently become aware of an allegation that former Board member Milton Abbott initially emailed a resignation from the board on October 13, in addition to his resignation letter on November 18, 2020. A search of the TPS email system for that date found that Mr. Abbott had indeed sent an email to President Kevin Johnson with an attachment announcing his resignation from the board, effective immediately.
I quickly made our district lawyers aware of the situation and I was advised to pursue an independent investigation into the facts surrounding the email. Specifically, we needed to verify the facts about whether the email was authentic. In Michigan law, a Board member resignation is effective when a correspondence is sent, not when it is accepted. The November 18; not an October 13 communication, was the email eventually forwarded to the full board and recognized at the November 23 BOE meeting. Board members were made aware of the new allegation by email and were later provided with a memo asking that they limit their conversations on the subject until the investigation was complete. The implications of the existence of a resignation dated October 13 would mean that by waiting until December to fill the board seat vacated by Mr. Abbott, the board had missed the 30-day window to fill the seat and that the appointment of President Johnson would
be null and void. My first attempt at initiating an objective investigation was to speak to the Lenawee ISD Legal and HR departments. They were recommended by our lawyers because they have completed investigations in our county in the past. Following a conversation with officials from the LISD, it was decided that because the ISD could potentially be called on to fill the vacancy created by the Abbott resignation, that they should not be involved in the investigation. Before I was able to speak to another investigator about the allegations, I was contacted by Mr. Abbott who said he felt that he could help clear things up. On Thursday, March 25, Mr. Abbott came to my office with a letter explaining the October 13 email to Mr. Johnson.”
The letter states, in part:
“After being involved in the summer of 2020 with school board meetings, I became disgusted and was getting very upset with the actions of some board members not knowing exactly what their positions entailed; and decided to resign my trustee position on the board. I wrote a letter to President Kevin Johnson and scanned it from my office copier and forwarded the letter to his email. After not hearing back from President Johnson, I called and asked if he had received the letter. Kevin told me he did not receive a letter from me. (I recently heard an investigation has taken place and a school tech employee has found the October 2020 email) During this particular October 2020 phone conversation, Kevin asked if I would reconsider my resignation and allow myself more time to decide. I agreed and changed my mind with the October 2020 resignation. My wife and I went on vacation for a few weeks and when we returned home; I had no doubt that I wanted to resign and do more traveling and spend time with my family. I sent a letter to President Johnson on November 18, 2020 resigning from the Tecumseh School Board. Again, after a few days of not hearing from President Johnson called him and asked if he received my resignation letter. He said no and checked his spam file. The letter was found and he told me he would present it at the next board of education meeting.”
Hilderley said that “…it should be noted that in Michigan Law, these facts are clear:
• In Michigan, a school board member’s resignation is official the moment it is given (verbal or written) to an officer of the Board.
• A school board member’s resignation, once given is not rescindable.
• A School Board in Michigan has 30 days to appoint a new member to a vacancy. If it fails to do so, the ISD has the legal responsibility to do so.
It is not clear that the Board was aware of these legal standards last October, but intent is irrelevant. As a follow-up to our conversation, I called Mr. Abbott to see if he had talked with any other board members about the October 13 email and resignation or the conversation that took place with Mr. Johnson. He stated that he had not.
A copy of the explanation letter was sent to all board members later in the day Thursday by a board member who stated that Mr. Abbott wanted it shared. Shortly after that email, I contacted President Johnson and asked if he had seen the email. He said yes and when I asked if he felt it was necessary to follow through with the investigation, he asked if we could get a final opinion from our attorneys about whether his appointment to the Abbott Board seat was valid. He said that if their determination is that the appointment was invalid, the Board would need to contact the LISD to appoint a new member. He also stated that if his appointment were invalid, we would need to make sure that all action taken by the Board from January through March was supported by a majority, minus his vote. Finally, I suggested that the Board should hold a special meeting before Spring Break to address the situation and he agreed.
Today, these items have been verified and advice has been given on how to legally proceed:
• The October 13, 2020 resignation of Milton Abbott was a valid resignation as of that date.
• A school board member may not rescind a resignation by law in the State of Michigan.
• The Tecumseh BOE missed the 30-day window for appointing a new member to complete the term of Mr. Abbott and that task now falls to the Lenawee ISD.
• Mr. Kevin Johnson is no longer a member of the Tecumseh BOE because his appointment was invalid.
As a result of this information I have informed Kevin Johnson that his appointment to the board has been found invalid and thanked him for his service to our district. I have also alerted the LISD Superintendent to the situation and have asked for them to try to have an appointment of a new member for the April 12 or April 26 meeting. Pursuant to board policy number 0171.2, the Vice-President shall assume the office of the President for the remainder of the term. It is my recommendation that the office of Vice-President be filled once a new member has been appointed and all seats are filled.
The succession plan in policy declares the Treasurer followed by the Secretary shall preside over meetings in the absence of the President or Vice-President. At this time, no Board action on the matter is required or recommended.
Thank you.”
Tune into our local and state newscasts, anytime day or night, for this story and more.
#wlenradio #wlennews #lenaweenews
*Information courtesy of a release issued by TPS Superintendent Rick Hilderley*