Grosse Pointe school board turmoil a reflection of national politics | Opinion

If the allegations in a recent lawsuit filed against four Grosse Pointe school board members are true, the quarrel is not only troublesome for the district, but exposes the way partisan politics are moving in this country.

Grosse Pointe schools are a microcosm of politics today: Those who have the majority flaunt it, and penalize those who don’t agree with the board’s conservative agenda. At first blush, that’s sad. But it’s also troubling that the Grosse Pointe school board is thwarting democracy by only hearing and making decisions based on one partisan group.

Mary Anne Brush’s lawsuit is just the latest sign of trouble in the small school district.

More on the lawsuit:Ex-Grosse Pointe schools employee says she was fired over political beliefs

Last month, Brush, a former communications coordinator for the district, filed a lawsuit claiming she was targeted by board members Sean Cotton, Ahmed Ismail, Lisa Papas and Ginny Jeup as the district made $4 million in budget cuts in 2023, mostly because of her progressive views and support for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

To muddy the waters more, this wasn’t Brush’s first encounter with Cotton. In 2019, Brush was an education reporter with the Grosse Pointe News, investigating whether the Cotton family was bankrolling a Grosse Pointe School Board recall campaign. The next year, Cotton purchased the paper. Brush and another reporter, Eddie Allen, were fired shortly afterward.

Brush started working at the school district in 2021. The next year, Cotton was elected to the district’s school board. He became board president in 2023.

Cotton’s detractors say he has used the Grosse Pointe News as a political playground to attack district opponents. All of it has some Grosse Pointe residents anxious to see who’s running for board seats.

Cotton is, at best, a polarizing political figure in Grosse Pointe. The owner of Grosse Pointe News has used the publication to attack those he’s politically opposed to, and he's gloated via social media about his political power.

“How does it feel to have bought an election?” resident Brian Vossburg asked Cotton in a recent Facebook comment.

“Pretty damn good," Cotton replied.

That, among other issues, doesn't sit well with former school board President Judy Gafa.

“What can you say about a person that uses their newspaper and their money to ruin other people's lives?” said Gafa, who left the school board in 2020. “He’s had cartoons about private citizens in the newspaper. Elected officials are fair game, but not private citizens."

In the school district, Brush and other concerned residents accuse board members of overstepping their typical duties, pointing to the recent departures of four top administrators at Grosse Pointe North, the rejection of a proposed $300,000 health center at the school and the denial of Freedom of Information Act requests for a 27-page report on the dismissal of two employees

It makes sense. Elected school board members should be looking at the district as a whole, rather than getting into the inner workings of any particular school. What’s next? Will the school board suspend children from school during their meetings?

The lawsuit and others also allege that those who have the 5-2 board majority are affiliated with FEC United, a conservative group that supports parental rights and opposes sex education, as well as Moms for Liberty and other right-wing groups. Each has agendas of taking over smaller school boards or municipal governments in order to advance their agenda.

The board’s conservative majority is also accused of flexing its power to eliminate programs such as a health clinic and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to turn back the clock on how the district operates, particularly at Grosse Pointe North, the more diverse school in the district.

It’s turning the atmosphere in the small Wayne County school district into a circus.

“It’s unfortunate that there's an obvious partisan divide on the board. School boards are supposed to be nonpartisan,” board member Valarie St. John says. “It’s unfortunate that (members' affiliation with outside groups is) the agenda that is driving all the decisions in our schools, rather than just taking a nonpartisan look at what's best for our schools.”

Those moves have forced the entire Grosse Pointe North administration out amid the pressure of what’s going on. It’s shameful at best.

Earlier this month, three top administrators at Grosse Pointe North — principal Kate Murray as well as assistant principals Geoffrey Young and Michelle Davis — resigned from the district as a result of the board’s interference.

Each departure leaves a big void in a school that serves a relatively lower-income population.

“(Sean Cotton’s) done exactly what he said he was going to do and nobody thought he would do it,” Gafa says. “He’s (run) out central office administration and now he’s gone down into the lower levels of school.

“He’s totally overstepped the boundaries of what an elected school board member is supposed to do. They're not supposed to micromanage the day-to-day operations. He wasn’t elected to run the school district. He was elected to run the school board. There’s a difference.”

St. John adds it hurts the students more than anyone else. The changes in administrators are  “stressing out our students.”

“We’ve already seen the changes (with) the mass exodus of administrators and teaching staff,” St. John says. “A lot of really good people have left in the past year and a half and it's very unfortunate. Obviously, people retire (and) move on, but to have such a large number of people who have a lot of experience leave at once is really hard on our students. That’s not what they should have to worry about.”

Another mounting issue is the release of a full 27-page report involving Murray and Davis, who made complaints that school board Vice President Ahmed Ismail retaliated against them in 2023.

A summary of the report was released, showing Ismail made comments about pushing Murray and Davis out, which they alleged amounted to gender discrimination and sexual harassment. An investigation found that not to be the case, but it did show retaliatory measures were taken against both the complainants after they filed their allegations.

Change is the Pointe, a local community group, has taken out ads in the Grosse Pointe Times calling for the release of the full report. The district has also denied Freedom of Information Act requests by media outlets seeking the full report.

The sad and frustrating thing about what’s going on in the Grosse Pointe School District is that very little has been said about the students and their needs. Whether it’s racial slurs, a health clinic to deal with mental wellness or standard curriculum issues, the needs of the students always should come first. Politics aside, that should be the primary goal.

Instead, what those vested in the Grosse Pointe schools get is a sideshow in American, partisan politics. Whether it’s a wrongful termination lawsuit or the mass exodus of a school’s administration, it’s a sideshow that takes away from the student’s needs.

“It is frustrating,” says Frank Joyce, a member of Change is the Pointe. “But one of the things that I try, and often fail, is not to just be consumed by the anger and instead try to think strategically, even though there's never any way to know for certain in the moment, about how we engage in this struggle long term.”

Darren A. Nichols is a contributing columnist at the Free Press. He can be reached atdarren@dnick-media.com or his X (formerly Twitter) handle @dnick12. Submit a letter to the editor atfreep.com/letters.