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Board removes one separation from report, tables decision on staff separation after trustees raise notice and exit‑interview concerns
Summary
Trustees voted to approve staff separations with one name removed so the employee can be given notice and an opportunity to speak; the board asked HR to clarify exit-interview procedures and back‑pay/legal status before final action.
The Benton Harbor Area Schools Board of Education on Feb. 10 approved most items in its monthly staff-separations report but removed the case of a teacher-in-training, citing concerns about notification and the absence of an exit interview.
Trustee Bradley moved to remove the employee Nishay Sutton from staff report H1 so she could be properly notified and afforded the opportunity to appear before the board; Trustee Rocket Martin supported the motion. The board approved the amended staff report by recorded vote.
Board members said the case was unusual and that an earlier meeting to hear the employee had been canceled; trustees pressed the district’s human-resources director to document whether Sutton had been given updated notice and whether an exit interview form had been sent. One trustee said they had been informed privately of the situation but had not had time to follow up because of personal health matters.
The human-resources director told the board that Sutton had been given notice two weeks before the previously scheduled meeting, but that meeting was canceled and she had not received a subsequent phone call to notify her about the new meeting. Trustees asked HR to provide the record of notifications, the dates exit-interview requests were sent to each separated employee, and whether employees consented to share exit-interview results with the board.
By the end of the discussion the board approved the staff separations list with Sutton removed so the district could confirm notification and consider whether to schedule a hearing or other follow-up. Trustees requested that information about any potential back pay, the legal status of the separation, and the HR committee’s prior reviews be provided in a follow‑up meeting; the board indicated that any closed-session review would require the employee’s request or other lawful grounds.
The board recorded the motion to remove Sutton and approve H1 with that amendment. Next steps: the district will review notification records, confirm the exit‑interview process and schedule a follow-up meeting so the employee can be afforded the opportunity to respond before the board acts further.
