Romulus resident Rita L. Hampton is not a woman to give up easily.
Hampton said that while two petitions to recall Romulus Community Schools Board of Education President Debi Pyles have been rejected by the Wayne County Election Commission, she will submit a third petition this week. Hampton said the petitions were rejected by the three-member panel due to “a lack of clarity.”
Petition language for the recall of school board Secretary Debbie Evitts was approved on Dec. 2 while the language to recall president Pyles, and Judy Kennard, the school board vice-president, were considered “unclear in language.”
The petitions, submitted by the Citizens of Romulus Community Schools, were in response to the actions of four board members in placing Superintendent of Schools Dr. Benjamin Edmondson on paid leave during an independent financial audit of central business office practices by law firm Clark Hill PLC.While Pyles has stated at public meetings that Edmondson “is not the target” of the investigation, motions to return him to work have failed by 4-3 votes of the board members twice. School board meetings during the past two months have been contentious with shouting members of the audience protesting the actions of the board members. Union officials, educators, parents and residents have been vocal in their protests of the board actions.
At one meeting, Hampton told Pyles that her recall proposal was not “personal” but that she felt the procedures involved in placing Edmondson on leave were grounds for the action. Residents have protested the hiring of Interim Superintendent Sean McNatt and claim he is being paid more per day than Edmondson. The board has also hired Dixon Public Consulting to investigate practices in the business office.
In a report posted on the school district website, representatives from Clark Hill questioned appropriate purchasing practices in the business office, but did not report any criminal wrongdoing.
“I never give up and I will never give in,” Hampton said, regarding her plan to resubmit the recall petitions this week.
