Forest Hills Board votes to proceed on tenure charges against Ada Vista teacher Alexis Bergau

The Forest Hills Board of Education voted on June 23 to proceed on tenure charges filed against Ada Vista first‑grade teacher Alexis Bergau, moving the district toward a formal discharge process. The resolution to proceed passed on a roll‑call vote with all members recorded as voting yes.

Board counsel and district administration summarized the allegations before the vote: the administration says that on March 7, 2025, Bergau "admitted that at this point, she took student A's foot and dragged him through the hallway to the office," and that multiple staff witnesses observed the student being pulled by the ankle down a hallway, which the administration says resulted in visible abrasions to the student's elbows and arms. The administration framed the conduct as violations of district restraint/seclusion and corporal‑punishment policies and as inconsistent with the Michigan code of educational ethics.

Superintendent Kirby recommended continuing Bergau's paid administrative leave and said the charges—if established—could justify discharge. The administration presented photos and cited board policies and state law in support of proceeding. "Miss Bergau's use of force in this situation, dragging him down the hallway for roughly 50 feet by his ankle, was unnecessary, excessive, and unreasonable," the administration said when summarizing its findings.

Union representatives and multiple community members urged the board to consider context and alternatives. Brett Hapalova, MEA UNISERV director, argued the student's behavior reflected "emotional dysregulation" and that Bergau had been untrained and unsupported for a child with severe needs. "The correct term is emotional dysregulation," Hapalova said, and he urged the board to weigh Bergau's two‑decade record and the classroom context before endorsing discharge.

Parents and colleagues who spoke during public comment described Bergau as a dedicated teacher with strong classroom communication. Ethan Tatum, whose son was in Bergau's class, told the board, "You have been nothing short of a miracle for Roman," and asked the board to consider options that would permit Bergau to return to teaching.

Under the procedures explained by counsel, the board's vote to proceed does not itself remove the teacher's right to appeal. If the board proceeds, Bergau may appeal to the State Tenure Commission, which can appoint an administrative law judge to hold a full evidentiary hearing where witnesses and exhibits may be presented. The board was explicit that this meeting was not an evidentiary hearing; its task was to determine whether the charges, as presented, provide a nonarbitrary or noncapricious basis to move forward.

The board also noted the matter involves a student and cited FERPA and state privacy rules when discussing portions of the investigation in closed session. The district will deliver required notices and timelines under the Michigan Teachers' Tenure Act as the process moves forward.