Romulus Community Schools
Superintendent Benjamin Edmondson.
Benjamin Edmondson, who is Black and became superintendent in August 2020, filed a federal lawsuit against the district in 2021, alleging he was placed on administrative leave just days after he blew the whistle on potential violations of the Michigan Open Meetings Act.
After the lawsuit was filed, the school board voted 4 to 3 to fire him.
As part of a settlement agreement, Edmondson was reinstated with a contract.
“He has a lot of supporters,” his attorney Nick Roumel tells Metro Times. “This is a guy who was extremely popular. His termination struck me as very unpopular with staff, teachers, parents and community members. … I’m so happy for him. He’s such a good man. We worked really hard on his behalf. I am very pleased with the outcome.”
At a school board meeting on Feb. 13, the board welcomed him back, and a packed room gave him a standing ovation. Edmondson wiped tears from his eyes.
“We’re ready to move our district forward,” board President Ursula Wester said.
The settlement came after voters in November elected new members to the board. Of the four board members who voted to fire Edmondson, two were not reelected.
The new board was in favor of reinstating Edmondson.
According to the lawsuit, Edmondson was inundated by a “sustained campaign of harassment” from board members who began “pushing back on decisions within his discretion as superintendent, interfering with his ability to perform his job and improve the school district, and causing multiple District administrators and employees to quit,” the lawsuit alleges.
Edmondson, who has a master’s and doctorate degree, was replaced with a white person who was paid more and had few qualifications.
While Edmondson was on a six-week absence for heart surgery, the board hired Dixon Public Consulting to examine the district’s finances. The board then used findings from the consultation to justify its decision to place him on leave on Sept. 27, according to the suit.
A week earlier, Edmondson expressed concerns that the school board was violating the Michigan Open Meetings Act by failing to make meeting minutes available in a timely fashion. Without those minutes, he said he could not properly do his job.
Coming soon: Metro Times Daily newsletter. We’ll send you a handful of interesting Detroit stories every morning. Subscribe now to not miss a thing.
Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
