WESTLAND, Mich. – A special board meeting is underway in the Wayne-Westland Community School District.
The meeting on Monday (June 10) comes just days after the board put Superintendent John Dignan on leave without giving a reason.
The special board meeting began at 5 p.m. to discuss the budget, as the district is millions of dollars in the hole.
At the start of the meeting, the board went into a closed session. It’s unclear what they’re discussing in the session.
Last week, the Wayne-Westland Board of Education placed Dignan on administrative leave pending further discussions.
Before the board took that vote, parent Jennifer Owens had called for that action. She pushed for an investigation, citing fiscal irresponsibility, among other issues.
“I feel like we are finally moving in the right way to not only monetarily but organizationally get our district back on track,” said Owens.
Last year, Dignan alerted the community about significant issues related to the district’s finances.
An audit uncovered what the district believed to be a surplus, which was actually a budgetary shortfall of nearly $18 million.
At the time, Dignan said it would require the board and the district to make hard decisions.
Last December, parents packed into a school board meeting to stop a plan to lay off employees.
The board decided against the plan. Now Owens is hoping the board votes to fire Dignan.
“There’s a lot of people in the district, including staff, parents, and students, who would like to see him terminated,” Owens said. “With him mismanaging our curriculum and our education, the mismanagement of funds.”
Local 4 was unable to reach Dignan for comment. Jennifer Curry is currently the acting superintendent.
Pamela Osborne covered the special meeting on Monday night. She said there was no word on what it was about or why it was special.
She says that Dignan was still on leave, though, and the school board presented several scenarios on cuts.
Still, people were disappointed because their forward plan didn’t include any context about how they messed up.
But a vote on budget cuts and other similar measures will be held the week ending June 21.
Update: Superintendent remains on leave as Wayne-Westland faces budget crisis