HARTLAND TWP. — Hartland Consolidated Schools is extending its oversight agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, stemming from an investigation that began in 2021.
The HCS education council voted 4-3 in favor of the extension on Monday, September 16.
The Justice Department deemed it “necessary” to extend the agreement for another school year, with the expectation that HCS would focus on addressing racial discrimination among students.
As part of the agreement, HCS will continue to monitor and track student behavior regarding potential racial harassment. School officials will investigate and determine whether discrimination, bullying, intimidation, or hazing has occurred.
The district will use a third party — Great Lakes Equity Center — to provide an “outsider’s perspective” for staff, according to the agreement. GLEC will consult with the district and provide services and resources to board members. Students, parents and staff will be able to complete cultural surveys.
Why is the DOJ involved in Hartland Schools?
The Department of Justice began monitoring the district after a senior student posted on social media in March 2021 that she was being harassed by her classmates because she was Black.
Two years after posting about the racism she experienced at Hartland High School, Tatayana Vanderlaan filed a lawsuit against the school district, as well as Hartland High School Principal Chuck Hughes, Hartland High School Principal Kate Gregory, Assistant Principal Emily Aluia, and three of the four boys charged for their actions.
The federal lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Eastern District Court of Michigan in Detroit, alleged that Vanderlaan “was exposed to an overtly racist environment that, if left unchecked, escalated to direct racial intimidation and ultimately culminated in explicit threats of violence by white supremacists, all of which was tacitly endorsed by teachers and by school and district leadership.”
Vanderlaan said in 2021, after her post went viral, that she had to be removed from campus due to the risk of being “lynched.”
The lawsuit alleges that Vanderlaan continued to experience harassment until the end of her senior year, despite reporting the incident to authorities multiple times. She said the harassment caused her to miss several weeks of school, resulting in lower grades and negatively impacting her plans to attend college and become a nurse or doctor.
The case is currently under investigation.
What has HCS already done?
According to the Department of Justice, HCS has addressed discrimination, bullying and harassment at the administrative level, but concerns remain about the potential for student-to-student harassment.
The DOJ could file a lawsuit against HCS if the extension agreement was not approved. Trustee Glenn Gogoleski, who voted down the measure, was unconcerned, saying it would be months before the DOJ would file such a lawsuit. He was more concerned about potential lawsuits from parents whose children might be wrongly accused of a crime.
Board Chair Meghan Glabach, Vice Chair Kristin Coleman, Secretary Cindy Shaw and Trustee Chris Costa voted in favor of the extension. Treasurer Greg Keller and Trustee Michelle Blondeel joined Gogoleski in voting against it.
“I cannot in good conscience even remotely support this,” Gogoleski said.
Gogoleski said the HCS administration has done a “great job” so far on the monitoring agreement, but said he has “absolutely no confidence in” the DOJ. He also cited concerns about GLEC, alleging that documents on its website “are tied to critical race theory.”
“I am not in favor of this and I will not allow this to happen in our neighborhood,” Gogoleski said.
Blondeel and Keller said they took an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution and believe adhering to the agreement would violate the Constitution.
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“I think we all want what’s best for the kids,” Keller said. “We may not all agree on how to do that, but I think you have to take a good look at what you think the community is begging us to do tonight.”
Costa and Coleman said HCS does not want to be in this position. There were some boos from the audience after the board voted to approve the agreement.
Jason Woolford, a Republican running in November for Michigan’s 50th District, encouraged the board to reject the agreement during the public hearing. Woolford called it “an overreach of our government.”
“The power lies with the parents, the power lies with those we elected,” Woolford said.
Jeff Scott, who is running for a partial term on the school board in November, said the district “clearly refused to adopt any policies or procedures that address how such an agreement would be implemented and what the impact would be on students.”
— Contact reporter Evan Sasiela at esasiela@livingstondaily.com. Follow him on Twitter @SalsaEvan.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Hartland Schools Extends Oversight Agreement with DOJ
