What’s the difference between the Oxford, MI school shooting and the Grand Haven, MI school embezzlement? Although the Oxford, MI school shooting and the Grand Haven, MI school embezzlement are obviously different categories of crime, the way these crimes were dealt with by school leaders is strikingly similar.
On November 30, 2021 four teenagers were killed in the Oxford school shooting. November 30th was a Tuesday and some students did not show up at school that day because there were rumors that a possible school shooting may occur. On Monday and Tuesday morning, the shooter had met with school officials to address troubling behavior. Students knew there was a possibility of violence. Administrators knew there was a possibility of violence. The school resource officer did not know. Authorities did not know. Although the school had procedures in place for assessing threats, the policies were not followed.
On November 28, 2022, one year after the Oxford school shooting, two school board members resigned; Tom Donnelly, the President, and Korey Bailey, the treasurer. They gave a press conference which was covered by Detroit News, News Channel 3, and News Channel 7. (Make sure you watch the 3 minute video embedded in the Detroit News article.)
The two Oxford school board members who resigned stated that the district had policies in place that would have prevented the shootings. Specifically, the school policies referenced The Homeland Security Secret Service Threat Assessment Protocol. This protocol contains procedures to assess threats preemptively.
Step 1: Establish a team. “The first step in developing a comprehensive targeted violence prevention plan is to establish a multidisciplinary threat assessment team (hereafter referred to as the “Team”) of individuals who will direct, manage, and document the threat assessment process. The Team will receive reports about concerning students and situations, gather additional information, assess the risk posed to the school community, and develop intervention and management strategies to mitigate any risk of harm.”
According to Donnely and Bailey, this policy had been in place for over 10 years at the Oxford School, but the policy had never been followed. Tom Donnelly and Korey Bailey resigned from the Oxford School Board because they wanted to bring transparency to their community. According to the Detroit News Article:
Donnelly and Bailey said when they earlier raised their concerns to the rest of the board, they were told by a non-district person, whom they declined to identify, that "this would bankrupt the district and tear this community apart."
"We could either go along and stay silent, (or) move along and be a voice for change," Bailey said.
In Grand Haven, school board member Barbara Pietrangelo resigned two days after the board publicly acknowledged they had received the results of the forensic analysis report. It is common knowledge that Barbara held different views from the other board members on a variety of topics, but there was never a reason given for her resignation. I can't help but think that the timing of her resignation was very interesting. Did Barbara Pietrangelo face the same dilemma as Tom Donnelly and Korey Bailey?.... to go along and stay silent, or move along and be a voice for change?
Although one crime was violent and deadly, and the other crime was white collar, the communities of both Oxford Schools and Grand Haven Schools were the victims of serious crimes. Citizens in both districts are eager for details about what happened. What circumstances allowed these crimes to happen?
School administrators and board members in both districts did what any logical person in their position would have done. They turned to police, lawyers, and insurance companies for advice. It appears that leaders in both districts received similar advice. Rather than give the public the transparency that it deserves, school district leaders appear to have gone into damage control mode, providing the minimum amount of information possible while doing everything in their power to protect the interests of the district. Remember, Bailey and Donnelly were told, “this would bankrupt the district and tear this community apart."
Was the GHAPS School Board told something similar by their advisers?
Did GHAPS have policies in place that would have prevented the embezzlement? If so, were these policies being followed?