CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A Macomb County judge will be asked to issue a temporary restraining order against the Clintondale school district, alleging newly elected board member Jared Maynard should have been seated by Nov. 28 and should have been able to vote on a buyout for Superintendent Rodriguez Broadnax.
That buyout came last week after a tumultuous few months for the superintendent and the board. Broadnax was not fired, but resigned and got a payout valued at $230,000-$500,000 according to the lawsuit.
“When I ran for office I ran for a partial term meaning I ran to fulfill the term of a person who had resigned and under Michigan election law I should have been seated in the board when the county clerk certified I won the election,” Maynard said. Maynard’s lawsuit also argues that because he wasn’t seated the buyout for the superintendent should be nullified. A hearing is scheduled in Macomb County Circuit Court in the morning.
It has been a tumultuous nine months for Broadnax and the board as accusations of questionable spending on a junket to California were investigated by the Clinton Township Police Department which submitted a warrant request to the Macomb County Prosecutor’s office. So far, no warrant has been signed.
Broadnax resigned in a heated board meeting a week ago after the current board voted 4-3 to offer the buyout.
“I would have stayed here,” Broadnax told the crowded room. “You probably wouldn’t have had to buy my contract out or separated from me but because of the racism that I have faced over the last year, the last 9 months from a few folks out here not saying everybody but there’s a few and they know who they are.”