Jackson Free Press

Lisa Ross, attorney for Michael Ellis, told the Jackson Free Press today that she is going to ask that hearing officer Charles McClelland recuse himself from the termination proceeding of fired Chastain Middle School principal Michael Ellis. She said a "concerned citizen" told her that Jackson Public Schools has awarded part of a $7.6 million contract to McClelland Moving and Storage, owned by Charles McClelland. Earlier this year, Ellis sued JPS Superintendent Earl Watkins for sexual harassment in federal count; the district maintains that Ellis was fired in December because he mismanaged funds and doctored payroll records. The JFP has not been able to confirm the amount of the JPS contract at this writing, or ascertain what part of it was awarded to McClelland.

"It looks like it's part of a fix," Ross said. McClelland did not return phone calls Friday.

"The hearing officer may be biased because of his financial relationship with the district," Ross said. She also said that she asked McClelland whether he had any financial ties to JPS prior to the start of the hearings on Jan. 16, and that he said he had none. Ross said that it was incumbent on JPS and the hearing officer to inform the Ellis team when that information changed, but that JPS has not done so.

"I don't know what it will mean," Ross said Friday, when asked whether McClelland's recusal would require the hearings to start over, but did say that she believed all the rules changed quite suddenly when Watkins went on the stand March 21. At that point, McClelland seemed to clamp down on the types of questions being asked, saying that he had been too lenient with the rules in the hearing to that point.

Ross said that even if the hearing officer doesn't have direct responsibility for the hearing's outcome, he's the gatekeeper of the evidence the board will hear when making their decision.

When asked about the contract in question, District Counsel Joanne Shepherd told the JFP late Friday that she could not confirm the total amount of the contract because it was complex with many different parts. However, she did say that McClelland's portion was "in excess of $200,000." Shepherd said that JPS was under no obligation to put the work out for bids but did so to get the best prices. McClelland's company was the low bidder for one part. She also said that McClelland may not receive any payment from the contract, because JPS has not determined whether they will complete the work specified.

Peggy Hampton of JPS e-mailed the following statements under Shepherd's direction, she said. These verbatim statements were included in a longer e-mail about Ellis' hearing:

The award for the moving services is for work that was competitively bid and relates to work that may or may not be needed in as much as it depends on whether the district does floor projects and painting this summer. To proceed to the next highest bidder would cost the district and taxpayers more money to avoid a manufactured controversy that is without merit. Mr. McClelland contacted the district and offered to withdraw his bid, but the district did not see any reason to do so given that the law does not require him to do so.

Summary of Points:
1. There is no financial interest in the outcome of the hearing.  The hearing officer is not a decision maker in this matter.  His role is solely to facilitate the hearing so that the board can decide the final matter.
2.  The award for the moving services is for work that was competitively bid and is for work that may or may not be needed in as much as it depends on whether the district does floor projects and painting this summer.
3.  To proceed to the next highest bidder would cost the district and taxpayers more money to avoid a manufactured controversy used by Mr. Ellis when one does not exist under the law.
4.  The district could have, under the law, hired a district employee to serve as hearing officer.  However, the district chose to go outside the district to appoint a hearing officer. Mr. Charles McClelland's qualifications are impeccable.  He is a retired assistant superintendent from the Rankin County School District and is a member of the State Board of Education.  He is very familiar with the operations of schools.  Mr. McClelland contacted the district and offered to withdraw his bid, but the district did not see any reason to do so given that the law does not require him to do so.

Previous Comments

ID

91816

Comment

The hearing officer may be biased because of his financial relationship with the district,” Ross said. She also said that she asked McClelland whether he had any financial ties to JPS prior to the start of the hearings on Jan. 16, and that he said he had none. Ross said that it was incumbent on JPS and the hearing officer to inform the Ellis team when that information changed, but that JPS has not done so. I agree with attorney Ross (and Kim Wade), this stinks and has the appearance of a huge "fix" orchastrated by JPS. Such an obvious conflict of interest should have been disclosed since winning a JPS contract could have potentially tainted McClelland's objectivity in reviewing Watkins' actions. I blame both parties for failure to avoid the conflict, but given how much JPS has to lose their actions are far more troubling.

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2007-03-30T19:32:42-06:00

ID

91817

Comment

Who is the "concerned citizen"? And why are they coming forward now? What role does the hearing officer play during this process?

Author

upliftdaSip

Date

2007-03-30T20:43:01-06:00

ID

91818

Comment

As menioned above, Channel 16 also reported that McClelland doesn't make any decisions and doesn't have a financial stake in this case. Apparently he was just awarded the contract yesterday and he was the lowest bid. From a public relations view it looks horrible but I don't know if this is an automatic issue of bias. Additionally, Channel 16 said that the school board ultimately makes the decision. So with all of this going on, the school board could find that Ellis being fired was wrong and then I guess he returns to work.

Author

upliftdaSip

Date

2007-03-30T21:24:07-06:00

ID

91819

Comment

McClelland's job as the hearing officer is to make sure that all evidence related to the charges against Principal Ellis are placed on the record for School Board members to make their final decision regarding his termination. While he doesn't pass any judgements on the case, he can be selective about what goes into the record, which could affect how the School Board rules.

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2007-03-30T21:32:08-06:00

ID

91820

Comment

I'm surprised that they made this decision, knowing how bad it would look. Wait, this is JPS. They can't think that far ahead.

Author

Ironghost

Date

2007-03-31T11:42:23-06:00

ID

91821

Comment

exactly Jeff. garbage in, garbage out. I also love how stringfellow is saying the case should be settled so that the district does not have any more bad publicity. oh really. if it IS doing a bad job, and I am not assuming it is, then maybe we SHOULD know about it.

Author

Kingfish

Date

2007-03-31T11:51:14-06:00