Judge dismisses HPS superintendent’s lawsuit against teachers’ union

Hamtramck Public Schools Superintendent Jaleelah Ahmed has struck out in her lawsuit filed against the district’s teachers’ union. A federal judge dismissed her lawsuit saying her claim lacked evidence. File photo

By Charles Sercombe
Hamtramck Public Schools Superintendent Jaleelah Ahmed was dealt a setback in one of two lawsuits she filed against the district and teachers’ union.
Federal Court Judge Gershwin Drain recently dismissed Ahmed’s lawsuit against the teachers’ union.
Her lawsuit against some school board members and the district is ongoing, although she has also suffered rejections on a number of motions to that lawsuit.
Ahmed claimed, in her lawsuit against the Hamtramck Federation of Teachers, that they conspired to get her fired, and discriminated against her, based on her “her race, sex, nation of origin, and disability.”
The lawsuit was filed in 2022.
In the judge’s opinion, he “cited a lack of evidence supporting Ahmed’s initial claims and numerous motions to amend.”
The president of the teachers’ union, Toni Coral, issued this statement:
“We were confident all along that the courts would eventually find in our favor. We are happy to have this event behind us.”
Coral told The Review that her union will not file a counter lawsuit against Ahmed.
“We have far too many other matters that need our attention,” Coral told The Review.
The Review reached out to Ahmed, who lives in Dearborn, for comment via her district email, but she did not respond. It was not immediately known whether she still has access to that email account.
Ahmed has had a rocky tenure here ever since she was appointed by the then-school board to the position of superintendent in 2019.
Teachers at the time were visibly upset at the time of the appointment, with some breaking into tears, when she was appointed at a board meeting. Ahmed’s relationship with teachers and some staff members only worsened from that point.
Ahmed has been an administrator for the district prior to her appointment.
A number of veteran teachers eventually resigned, many citing a “toxic work environment” created by Ahmed and some of her administrators.
Ahmed’s relationship with the board of education also soured.
After dealing with the covid crisis in the district, Ahmed took a medical leave of absence.
But, in her absence, the board took action to put her on paid suspension, citing an investigation into a matter that was never disclosed.
Ahmed spent most of 2023 on paid leave, and then came back this past January. However, after a couple of months, she once again took a medical leave of absence after receiving a poor job performance evaluation.
Strangely, the board had just increased her salary to about $225,000 a year and extended her contract.
After her medical leave expired, Ahmed still did not return to her job, but the district denies she is on suspension, and has refused to say what work she does for the district.
Ahmed is still being paid.
During the past two years, there has been a succession of interim superintendents, one of whom was later put on paid suspension in another undisclosed investigation.
The district is now under the management of Interim Superintendent James Larson-Shidler.
In total, there are about 18 lawsuits filed against the district.
Ahmed’s lawsuit against some board members, some of whom are no longer serving on the board, accused them of a conspiracy to oust her, as well as defamation and violations of federal discrimination laws.
Posted Aug. 9, 2024