In a split decision, the Dearborn Heights School District No. 7 Board of Education voted to reinstate Annapolis High School Principal Aaron Mollett at least through the end of the school year.
Board members also voted to place school Supt. Tyrone Weeks on administrative leave.
After a meeting that lasted more than four hours, and had an hourlong teacher-led protest beforehand, Mollett was reinstated effective May 18.
The Press and Guide could not reach Mollett for comment Thursday morning, but he did speak with Fox 2.
“I love the kids,” he said. “There’s many of them I’ve grown up. They’ve taught me how to do this job. My son’s a senior at a different school and I’ve watched the aspects of these kids grow up. We’ve become family.
“The amount of messages last night and this morning, it’s been amazing.”
Students, staff and the community had been calling for Mollett’s reinstatement since it was announced. Most of the student body at AHS staged a walkout May 9. During that, they marched to the board offices several blocks away with signs calling to “bring back our principal” and other sayings.
The motion that reinstated him passed with four “yes” votes, two abstentions and one “no” vote.
The three who didn’t vote in favor of Mollett, all wanted to wait until they spoke with the district’s legal team and heard the exact allegations against Mollett, which even the board has not been privy to as of the May 17 meeting.
A May 30 closed session is scheduled to go over the results of the investigation and talk about their legal options, but the motion that was passed reinstated Mollett at least through the end of the school year.
Weeks left the meeting immediately following the vote to place him on leave. That motion passed with two abstentions, as well.
Prior to that vote, he had sat there listening to the speakers for most of the meeting. While he did respond to direct questions from board members, he otherwise sat in silence for more of the meeting.
The remaining crowd erupted in applause after both votes, drowning out anyone who was talking in the room.
Weeks was placed on leave pending an investigation of three Title IX complaints and a civil rights complaint alleged against him.
Title IX states “no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance,” according to the U.S. Department of Education.
Photos: Teachers, staff protest Ty Weeks before Board of Education meeting
The board meeting stretched on from 6 p.m. to just after 11 p.m., with a short intermission around 9 p.m. when the crowd got too rowdy and a break was called for.
The crowd, which had peacefully protested outside of Annapolis High School for an hour before the meeting, was loud and continually interrupted both the board and community speakers repeatedly throughout the meeting.
More than two dozen times, Board President LaTonya Gater had to call for a point of order and ask the crowd to calm down. Multiple people also were asked to leave the auditorium after then continually interrupted speakers.
The outdoor protest had District No. 7 teachers and staff joined by Michigan Education Association members from across lower Michigan to picket in front of the building. At times, the protestors chanted “Teachers united will never be defeated,” and “Hey hey, ho ho, Dr. Weeks has got to go.”
In a release prior to the protest, the MEA said Weeks refused to negotiate a virtual learning program, removed a bargaining unit member from the local Administrative Assistants Union and placed her in a nonrepresented position, refused to compensate a teacher who suffered serious injuries after being assaulted by a student and required central office secretaries to sign nondisclosure agreements.
Included in the protest was former school Supt. Jennifer Mast, who stepped down to return to teaching at Pardee Elementary School. Weeks was hired to replace her.
Dozens of community members spoke during the meeting, including many teachers, parents and AHS students.
Teachers repeatedly accused Weeks of creating a bad work environment, not supporting them, and causing many to seek jobs outside of the district, pointing to two people who were on the agenda resigning their positions, which has been a trend in recent weeks.
"In my 24 years in District 7, I have never witnessed the amount of resignations in one school year," said AHS teacher Charlene Thompson.
The first several speakers during the open commenting portion of the meeting were all teachers.
“Local educators, students and families have been through enough these last few years, and they shouldn’t have to also deal with an overbearing superintendent who will do or say anything to maintain his grasp on power,” said Amanda Moran, president of the Dearborn Heights Education Association and a teacher at O.W. Best Middle School.
Several students also spoke out, talking about how much they all enjoyed their principal, what the atmosphere was in the building since he’s been on leave, and how they missed his presence in the building.
Mollett has taught grades four, six through eight and also served as the dean of students at O.W. Best Middle School, before being named principal there. He served in that role for five years before moving on to AHS in the same role.
More than 1,100 community members had signed a change.org petition calling for his reinstatement.
Claudia Portscheller, the assistant superintendent, was appointed acting superintendent while Weeks is on leave.
Annapolis High School principal reinstated pending investigation results - Dearborn Press and Guide
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