ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Two motions to possibly remove Dr. Jeanice Kerr Swift from the position of Ann Arbor Public Schools Superintendent were decided on during a Board of Education special closed session Monday night.
The board began the formal process of potentially terminating Swift after passing two motions. Each passed with a 4-3 vote by board members.
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Swift has been superintendent of the school district since 2013.
The first motion was to approve issuing a pre-termination without cause notice to the superintendent. The letter is not a formal action firing Swift. Instead, it starts a minimum of a two-week period during which the board cannot terminate her. She has five days to respond on whether or not she wants to defend herself in front of the board before decisions are made regarding her employment.
The second motion authorizes the board’s attorney to begin formal negotiations with Swift over a separation agreement within the next 30 days.
Michigan Radio noted that Swift said she will act in good faith during the transition.
MLive/TheAnnArbor News reported that 11 former AAPS board members submitted an open letter prior to the Monday night meeting. The letter praises Swift, criticizes the board and states that “discussion by a quorum toward a decision outside of an official meeting is a clear violation of the Open Meetings Act, and to which this Board’s behavior seems to point.”
“Executive sessions are the proper venue for personnel matters, followed by a well-publicized board meeting with public comment and well-managed discussion. All employees, even those who are at-will, need and deserve full due process and professional courtesy,” MLive wrote quoting the letter.
Board of Education President Rima Mohammed said that the accusations are inaccurate and that the closed session was legal.
The board’s nighttime meeting comes on the heels of a lawsuit by the parent of a special education student alleging the school district systemically failed to promptly report abuse the child experienced at the hands of a bus aide in 2021.
Nearly 100 AAPS parents, former student parents and an anonymous staff member signed a letter asking Swift to resign in reaction to the lawsuit. The letter cites a racially hostile environment, mistreatment of students at Pathways academic campus, community violence and a lack of response to antisemitic incidents.
The next Ann Arbor Public Schools board meeting will be at 7 p.m. on August 23 according to the board calendar.