WARREN, Mich. (WXYZ) — The Fitzgerald Public Schools Superintendent is under fire. She and the Food Services Director are facing charges for allegedly smoking marijuana during school hours.
Police say the pair were smoking marijuana in a parked car in a plaza right across the street from the administration building during school hours on Friday. They drove off in separate vehicles. The superintendent had a hunting rifle in her car. The other district official had her six-year-old niece in her car.
Superintendent Hollie Stange and Food Services Director Amanda Carroll faced a judge Monday on a trio of charges.
Stange is accused of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, possessing a weapon in a weapon-free zone, and having marijuana on school grounds. That last charge is a two-year felony.
“You’re (Macomb County Prosecutors) making a claim that there was marijuana consumed near a school property. Okay, so they gotta show that it was actually marijuana and that it was within a thousand feet,” said William Barnwell, defense attorney for Stange. “As to the weapons count, we’re talking about a hunting rifle. Not like a concealed weapon, not a machine gun.”
“(It’s) very disheartening, to say the least. Unfortunately, some of the things that we’ve heard has not been something we didn’t know about. We, being the community,” said Dr. Zsa Zsa Booker, a Fitzgerald Schools parent. “I’m hoping that these events and allegations will help us move toward a more positive direction for our school district. No one in the community wants to be seen in this particular light. All of the positive things that are happening here with our kids and in our school district, our system, there’s a lot of great things happening, and it’s unfortunate that we’re being seen in this light.”
Carroll is also accused of having marijuana on school grounds, operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated - second offense, and OWI with a minor in tow. Stange was previously cited for texting and driving.
In a letter to parents, school board president Julia Yokel stated the board voted unanimously to place Stange and Carroll on leave effective immediately, pending its internal review.
“As a longtime community advocate for this school area, as a County Commissioner-elect, and as someone who has really advocated for responsible gun ownership as a gun owner myself, this is a prime example of what we do not want to see in our community. And we expect much greater for our leaders and those responsible for caring for our children,” said Michael Howard, a Warren parent and Macomb County Commissioner-elect.
Stange and Carroll are due back in court January 2nd. The district says it started the process of finding potential replacements for both their positions.
READ THE ENTIRE LETTER TO PARENTS BELOW:
Dear Fitzgerald Public Schools families,
The Board of Education at Fitzgerald Public Schools is committed to transparency and keeping our community informed. We wanted to provide our school community an update regarding the arrest of Superintendent Hollie Stange and the district’s Food Services Director, Amanda Carroll.
The Fitzgerald Public Schools Board of Education today voted unanimously to place District Superintendent Stange and Amanda Carroll on leave effective immediately pending our internal review and the ongoing criminal investigation. Stange and Carroll were arrested Friday, Dec. 20.
In addition, the Board has initiated the process of identifying an Interim Acting Superintendent and Food Services Director while the review and investigation continue.
The school district is cooperating with local law enforcement and will continue to do so. We will be providing additional details when they are available and appropriate to share.
At Fitzgerald Public Schools, we hold our staff members to the highest standards of professional conduct and expect them to lead by example by adhering to our school values, policies and procedures.
Please know that this incident does not reflect the vast majority of our dedicated administrators, teachers and support staff who work tirelessly each day. We remain focused on our mission of providing a world-class education to our students.
Sincerely,
Julia Yokel, President
Fitzgerald Public Schools Board of Education
