HPS School Board falls further into decline

It pains us to dwell on this, but the Hamtramck Board of Education appears to be in a mess of trouble.
The public is noticing it too, if comments on various Hamtramck Facebook pages are an accurate barometer.
And by trouble, we mean that it appears board members are not getting along. The latest tell was a proposal, at last month’s board meeting, to strip Sal Hadwan’s title as vice president.
Why?
That reason was not made public, other than that it was said to be for “cause.”
Not telling the public what the cause was points to another ongoing issue with the board; it is not very transparent in its dealings. Nor do they allow any discussion between the public and board during their meetings.
Instead, the public’s concerns are sent to the dubious land of waiting to have the “appropriate administrator respond,” which we are willing to bet never happens.
As it turned out, Hadwan voluntarily stepped down as vice president.
This isn’t the first time the board has turned on one of its members. In 2023, early in the new year, the board stripped Regan Watson of her title as treasurer for the bizarre reason of doing the very duties she had been previously performing to fulfill that role.
That was the last we saw of Watson, not that we can blame her, but come on — resign from office, or else start attending the meetings. You owe it to the public and, more importantly, the children; it’s a duty that all board members have pledged to uphold.
On top of the inner-turmoil among board members, the school superintendent, Jaleelah Ahmed, has taken yet another leave of absence. We hear that this leave is for medical reasons, which she is entitled to take, with plans to come back on March 8.
She took this leave right after getting a poor job performance evaluation for the past year. That timing seems suspicious.
Clearly, this is a board, and district, in disarray.
We were sincerely hoping the board would get its act together in the new year, but it’s clear that this board has lost control, and the district is now floundering.
The tragedy here is the district’s students are not getting the quality education they deserve, and taxpayers are not getting their money’s worth.
Do better, folks. The district’s future depends on stability among its overseers.
Posted March 1, 2024