KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Kalamazoo Public Schools now faces another lawsuit after former Assistant Superintendent James English sued the district.
English says he was terminated in December, shortly after the abrupt resignation of former Superintendent Rita Raichoudhuri.
The lawsuit claims English was fired in retaliation for bringing improper business practices to the board’s attention. Additionally, it claims that the termination left English struggling financially, shunned by the community and still trying to find another job.
KPS conducted a "sham" investigation before cutting ties with English, according to the lawsuit. It claims the interim superintendent at the time, Cindy Green, who is referred to as the board's "hit man," was in charge of the investigation.
Court documents show English believes he was fired for "purely fabricated reasons" and never got the opportunity to address the board during the investigation.
The lawsuit alleges that in his 2022 review, English received a “highly effective” rating; in contrast, the investigation listed multiple issues with his performance. The board questioned his role in the creation of the Kalamazoo Public Schools Foundation without board approval and spending more than $91,000 in district funds on its operations.
However, English said those actions were done at the direction of his supervisor, Raichoudhuri and then-board president Patti Scholler-Barber knew about it.
The lawsuit also claims English was fired for being a whistleblower.
Documents reveal that English expressed concerns about inaccurate reporting on state special education reports, along with issues with the district not following certain state tax requirements.
He also brought up unlawful payments, specifically referring to a payment made to board member Jermaine Jackson in 2021, where only Green authorized the transaction.
The lawsuit also alleges that in June of 2022, English found out there were people receiving health insurance from the district, despite not being employees. English claims he tried to start a forensic audit that fall; however, documents allege that the district shut down the audit after firing English.
Read the full complaint filed against Kalamazoo Public Schools:
First Amended Complaint Eng... by WXMI
We reached out to the district for comment on this lawsuit and have not heard back.
This comes after district employee Tabitha Coleman filed a whistleblower lawsuit against Kalamazoo Public Schools, claiming the board misused nearly $250,000 in public funds.
READ MORE: Whistleblower, Kalamazoo Public Schools employee sues district
