Detroit school principal suspended for violating district policy; some staffers don't want her back

DETROIT (FOX 2) - A public school principal in Detroit has been suspended following an investigation that allegedly revealed violations of district policy.

But the larger question is what happens next -  will she be returning? According to the district, yes.

Staff members expressed fervent opinions about Thirkle’s principal Stephanie Gaines at the Detroit Public Schools Community District meeting. Gaines was suspended for, according to the district, "Not following district procedure in multiple incidents."

"We are asking to send her into a different building so that the toxicity and our time doesn’t continue," said a teacher. "In the words of a famous singer, Whitney Houston, 'crack is wack' and it would be, if you too allowed her to come back into our building to continue the harassment and retaliatory nature towards the staff at Thirkle Elementary Middle School."

That teacher at Thirkle Elementary Middle School in Detroit doesn’t want the principal back and she’s not alone.

According to a letter FOX 2 obtained from the president of the Detroit Federation of  Teachers to the superintendent and school board, Gaines was allegedly described as an authoritarian or dictatorial leader. It said some parents aren’t even welcome.

"It seems like her suspension is similar to what Martha Stewart got when she went to jail,"  a school staff member said. "The only thing that she hasn’t done is come into our building, but she’s been given all kinds of special treatment - it doesn’t seem like a suspension to me."

" I went to Thirkle back in the '80s and I had another of my tenants, they have kids that attend that school," said Scott Turner. "To hear it, that’s like, awful."

The district says Gaines suspension has nothing to do with tension with staff or issues related to recess or student bathroom issues. Those are other complaints that came up.

Here are the alleged violations the district provided FOX 2 with:

• Not reporting that a student brought a Taser to school and returning the Taser to the student.
• Students working and being paid during instructional time.
• The timely reporting of an employee who was suspected of being under the influence.
• A student being released to a parent who was not the approved caretaker.

"This is the time period that you want to inspire them in order to grow and to be good citizens here in the world," said Lorraine Colts, former DPSCD parent.

The district says the suspension was for 30 days. There is no word on when the principal will be back.

The official statement from DPSCD is below:

"The District received a letter outlining a number of allegations against Principal Gaines. After the investigation, most were unfounded. However, it did reveal that Principal Gaines did not follow District procedure regarding the following incidents: not reporting that a student brought a taser to school and returning the taser to the student, students working and being paid during instructional time, the timely reporting of an employee who was suspected to being under the influence, and a student being released to a parent who was not the approved caretaker.

"Principal Gaines has owned her mistakes. She has also established a track record of improvement at a school that is challenging. She wants to continue the challenge of improving the school for students and improving her relationships with staff. She will be provided this opportunity after her suspension. For clarify, Principal Gaines was not suspended related to tension with staff or issues related to recess or student bathroom issues."

-Dpscd