Future of school district superintendent is still unknown

HPS officials are not saying what the status is about whether Superintendent Jaleelah Ahmed has returned to work from her paid two-month medical leave. In the meantime, there is still an interim superintendent working for the district.

Update: At Thursday’s School Board meeting, Superintendent Jaleelah Ahmed did not attend. Instead, Interim Superintendent Michael Williamson sat with the board. No mention was made about Ahmed’s status.

By Charles Sercombe
Did Hamtramck Public Schools Superintendent Jaleelah Ahmed return to her job this week?
That was the week’s burning question.
According to sources, Ahmed was expected to return from her paid medical leave this week, after having been on it for the past two months.
The Review reached out to Interim Superintendent Michael Williamson as to whether he knows when – or even if – Ahmed will return, but he did not respond to an email.
Neither Ahmed nor school board president Jihan Aiyash responded to an email.
Toni Coral, President of the Hamtramck Federation of Teachers, said she was not aware of Ahmed returning.
Ahmed took a leave after getting a poor work performance review by the board of education last February. The board did not say why they gave Ahmed a poor review.
This is the second medical leave Ahmed has taken since becoming superintendent in 2019.
In October of 2022, Ahmed took her first paid medical leave, citing pressure from dealing with the covid pandemic.
That leave turned into a paid suspension that lasted until January of 2023, when the board not only brought her back, but also gave her a salary raise and extended her contract.
It was never explained by the board why Ahmed was suspended, other than to say there was an ongoing investigation. The board never explained the nature of the investigation.
During that suspension, Ahmed filed a federal lawsuit against some school board members, claiming discrimination, while suing the teachers’ union for allegedly trying to get her fired.
Ahmed’s tenure has been rocky. A number of veteran teachers and staff members resigned during her time as superintendent, saying that Ahmed and some of her administrators had created a “toxic” work environment.
Several of those former staff members subsequently filed lawsuits against the district, which are still pending – as is Ahmed’s.
On top of that, the school board has become increasingly divided over a number of issues, and one boardmember, Regan Watson, has not attended a meeting for about a year since her fellow board members removed her as treasurer.
The board itself struggled last year to even hold their state-mandated monthly meetings. During last year, the board did not hold its monthly meeting in three separate months.
The board was scheduled, this month, to hold its regular monthly meeting on Thursday, after The Review went press.
Posted April 26, 2024