Sharon McPhail fights firing from school in court

McPhail refuses to leave her position

DETROIT – Former Detroit City Councilwoman Sharon McPhail was in court Tuesday morning after being fired as the chief administrative officer of a Detroit charter school, a job she refuses to leave.

Bay Mills Community College, the authorizer for Detroit Community Schools, made the decision to fire McPhail. She refuses to leave the position because she said they do not have the authority to fire her.

McPhail has held the position of superintendent for the past five years. Questions have been raised over certain people McPhail has hired.

She's hired a former judge who was booted from the bench by the Michigan Supreme Court. She's also hired a fired Detroit schools financial officer and put them in a position of leadership.

Over the past two years, the state of Michigan fined the school more than $200,000 because it said McPhail didn't have the proper superintendent credentials. The school is unable to get financing because of McPhail's credentialing issue.

McPhail showed she has the proper certification credential but she claims she doesn't need it because she doesn't directly oversee curriculum.

McPhail's attorney and the schools attorneys spent about an hour behind closed doors with the judge. When they emerged they decided not to have the scheduled hearing because they would like to see if they could reach an amicable settlement.

They told the judge it should take about two weeks.

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About the Authors

Rod Meloni is an Emmy Award-winning Business Editor on Local 4 News and a Certified Financial Planner™ Professional.

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.

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