Opinion ID: 2982405
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Plaintiff’s Final Months at DPS

Text: Plaintiff’s relations with the Board did not improve. On July 17, 2008, Plaintiff was testifying at a Board Finance Committee meeting. Plaintiff refused to answer questions about -5- No. 13-1515 the district’s finances, stating that she needed permission from Calloway before she could speak. Plaintiff also refused to accept a letter from the Michigan Department of Education that had been sent to a Board member—Calloway’s procedures required such documents to reach DPS employees through more formal channels. Board member Jimmy Womack was not happy. He told Plaintiff that her refusal to answer questions was insubordinate, especially since she was the Board’s Treasurer. Plaintiff responded, “Then I will be insubordinate.” (R. 58-3, Womack Dep., at 1353.) Womack bluntly told Plaintiff that Calloway “needed to g-o and [Plaintiff] can g-o too.” (Id.) Womack became so animated that Board member Tyrone Winfrey, who was chairing the meeting, had to take Womack outside and attempt to calm him down. Plaintiff and other DPS officials at the meeting later wrote letters to Winfrey to complain about Womack’s behavior; although Plaintiff seemed most upset that DPS employees were exposed to criticisms of Calloway. The same day that Winfrey received these letters, he wrote a memo to Carla Scott, the Board’s Chair, and Joyce Hayes-Giles, the Board’s Acting President, recommending that Plaintiff be removed from her position as Board Treasurer. Winfrey justified this recommendation by pointing to Plaintiff’s failure to apprise the Board of the impending deficit until June 2008, and Plaintiff’s behavior at the July 17, 2008 Board meeting. The Board removed Plaintiff as treasurer on August 14, 2008, and appointed Esaw as her temporary replacement. The Board also took steps to remove Plaintiff from her position as CFO. On September 24, 2008, Calloway wrote Plaintiff a letter giving notice that the Board was considering nonrenewal of her contract. The letter gave two reasons for this proposed action: reorganization within the district and economic necessity. The letter also informed Plaintiff that she had a week -6- No. 13-1515 to request a meeting with the Board to discuss the reasons for her proposed termination. Plaintiff did not request the meeting. As the Board had predicted, in December 2008 the State of Michigan announced that an emergency manager would be appointed to run DPS. A week later, the Board voted 7-4 to terminate Plaintiff without cause effective immediately.