GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A letter written by the superintendent for Grand Rapids Public Schools to district staff regarding the status of an investigation into their director of public safety is making the rounds weeks after being sent.
A spokesperson for the district confirmed to FOX 17 that the letter was sent out by Dr. Leadriane Roby on November 29, following an alleged aggressive phone call between the executive director of public safety, Larry Johnson, and a student’s parent.
That call happened on October 25 with parent Seth Moore, who has an elementary-aged daughter at C.A. Frost.
“Outside of this one-off experience with Larry, I have never had a bad interaction with any staff, anything at GRPS,” Moore told FOX 17 on Thursday.
His daughter attends one of the district's theme schools, meaning she is dropped off every morning at the Harris Park "hub". From there, students are taken via bus to their individual schools.
As Moore arrived with his daughter, he realized there were no staffers in the area watching over the waiting kids.
“In the past, when there has been somebody not watching, kids get rowdy, they pick up a stick and start hitting kids,” Moore explained.
So, he wrote up a quick email to the district. This was not the first time he says he brought the issue to their attention, previously speaking about it at a public meeting.
"When I arrived at 8:00~ this morning – no adult was present and two young children were sitting against the door trying to get out of the rain... I waited ~10 minutes, and no adult ever showed up. The normal admin staff member that shows up is 99.9999% reliable – and is an excellent employee ensuring the safety of our children, but it appears that because this person does not report to anyone at Harrison Park, when they are absent there is no chain of command to ensure that anyone else arrives to watch these children," his message read in part.
"I’d like to understand why my verbalized comments about a very specific and “low hanging fruit” safety concern was ignored, and how I as a voter should continue to trust that Larry has my best interests in heart in providing safety for my child, especially when using transportation?"
He says it wasn't long after he sent the email that he got a call from the district's director of communications, trying to set up a telephone conference between Moore and Larry Johnson.
"What proceeded was basically a 20 minute long unhinged rant, is the best way I would describe it. Larry was mad," he said Thursday.
“He indicated that the person was there, but was in the bathroom and that I shouldn't be worried about there not being supervision because of 'womanly issues' is what he had referred to, which I thought was wildly inappropriate.”
Dumbfounded, Moore says there was very little actual back-and-forth conversation in the call.
“Then he asked if I was married, and went on to make comments about how, if I lied, like I was lying to him, in my marriage, that I was going to have problems in my marriage,” he recalled.
"Then he accused me of being a racist, which I don't know where that came from.”
Moore says that Johnson threatened to "come after" him.
"I felt threatened," he said.
"I immediately felt that I had to like go get my daughter out of school, I was so worried that he had access to my child."
Johnson was placed on administrative leave as an independent law firm conducted an investigation into the phone call.
Dr. Roby says in the letter that staffers with the firm interviewed Johnson and everyone else involved in the October 25 phone call.
“Based on the review of the investigation report, it is clear the phone exchange did not meet the district’s standards for interactions with valued members of our community,” Dr. Roby wrote. “I expect all of those who interact with our district to be treated with respect — even when conversations include feedback that may be difficult to hear.”
A website that claims to be created by an “independent effort of united parents and citizens” recently went active with the stated intention of getting Larry Johnson fired from his position at GRPS.
In addition to his role as director of public safety, Johnson also serves as chief of staff for the district.
“The negative marks against Johnson should be enough to give our relatively new Superintendent and Board (which includes newcomers with a clear political mandate) plenty of justification,” the website reads. “But now that Larry has crossed the line of threatening a parent, he should be far beyond any 'last chance' efforts to protect him. Dr. Roby must stop her charade of placations and nothing-burger emails, and act.”
A spokesperson for the district told FOX 17 on Thursday that Dr. Roby would not be making any further public statements regarding the current situation with Johnson.
In her letter to staff, Dr. Roby wrote, “The willingness to have respectful and courteous dialogue with our scholars and their families is an expectation for those who serve this district at all levels, especially leadership. This is what our families can and should expect from us.”
While Johnson was on administrative leave for the length of the investigation into the phone call, he resumed his regular duties on Tuesday, November 21.
FOX 17 reached out to Johnson’s office for comment Thursday afternoon, but have yet to hear back at the time of publishing.
