Tecumseh, MI – In the wake of the investigation regarding former Tecumseh High School principal Dennis Niles, Superintendent Rick Hilderley and the Tecumseh Public Schools Board of Education have released a statement addressing the matter with the public.
Here is the District’s Statement:
“First and foremost, on behalf of the Board and the District, I wish to personally thank all of the individuals who came forward with concerns about our former high school principal. It is not easy to raise such concerns, especially against a high-level administrator. We appreciate and admire your courage in doing so. I would also like to thank the District’s Human Resource team that investigated these matters promptly and thoroughly. They did a very good job of assuring the process was objective so that the District’s Superintendent could make an informed decision.
The District cannot comment on the specifics of student allegations as doing so could violate state and federal student privacy laws. However, we can inform you that the Human Resource team thoroughly investigated the allegations against Mr. Niles, including interviews with twenty witnesses and Mr. Niles himself. The results of this investigation were reviewed by both Mr. Hilderley and the District’s Legal Counsel and it was determined that the legal standards for discipline did not support termination and the assigned discipline matched the level of the allegations that could be proven by a preponderance of the evidence (51% to 49%).
The Board of Education considers transparency, exceptional instruction and professionalism as essential pillars of our District. We do not tolerate hidden decision making–that’s why we have been very public about the allegations from the beginning. We also do not tolerate unprofessional behavior on any level and that is why Mr. Hilderely imposed discipline and corrective training to the former high school principal. Lastly, we will not tolerate behavior that compromises student safety, and would not tolerate further employment of any district administrator, including Mr. Niles, if we believed student safety was compromised in any way. If in the future any student believes they have been subject to inappropriate behavior we encourage them to contact an appropriate administrator, the Superintendent and the local police department.”
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