Suspended school superintendent re-appointed to state commission

HPS Superintendent Jaleelah Ahmed

By Charles Sercombe
Suspended Hamtramck Public School District Superintendent Jaleelah Ahmed still has influence with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Whitmer recently announced over a dozen appointments to various commissions and boards, including re-appointing Ahmed to the Commission on Middle Eastern American Affairs for another four-year term.
In the description of Ahmed, the governor’s press release announcing the appointment said:
“Jaleelah Ahmed, of Dearborn Heights, is the superintendent and ESL director for Hamtramck Public Schools. Ahmed holds a Bachelor of Science in education from the State University of New York, Master of Arts in education from the University of Michigan-Dearborn and is currently pursuing her Doctor of Education with a concentration in curriculum, practice, and educational leadership. Jaleelah Ahmed is reappointed for a term commencing July 10, 2025, and expiring April 19, 2029.”
Ahmed’s tenure with the district has been rocky ever since she started as superintendent in 2019.
Not long after she took over the post, a number of teachers accused her and some of her administrators of creating a “toxic” work environment. Many veteran teachers and staff members subsequently left the district.
Ahmed eventually filed a lawsuit against the district, as well as the Hamtramck teachers’ union, citing her civil rights being violated, among other accusations. Federal District Court Judge Gershwin Drain dismissed both lawsuits.
Ahmed essentially failed to present evidence, and the judge felt that the board’s decision to put her on paid administrative leave was allowable since there was a belief that she might have committed misconduct.
The court said placing an employee on paid leave is “a reasonable carve-out in employment discrimination law.
“Her job and status did not change. And her finances and benefits were not impacted,” Drain said.
In early 2024, Ahmed was brought back on the job and, not only that, the school board gave her a contract extension and pay raise. But a couple of months after that, Ahmed was once again suspended without explanation. The board had just given her a poor job performance rating –- again, also without explanation.
She has now been on this second paid suspension for going on two years, all the while continuing to draw her salary of over $200,000 a year, plus benefits.
Her contract with the district expires in 2027.
The commission that Ahmed has been appointed to has the following duties:
“The Commission on Middle Eastern American Affairs advises the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity and the Governor on issues relating to the Arab and Chaldean communities in Michigan, and promotes awareness of their culture and history. They also work to empower, promote, and advance the Middle Eastern American community in Michigan.”
Posted July 18, 2025