STATE OF MICHIGAN

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
LANSING

RICK SNYDER
GOVERNOR

BRIAN J. WHISTON
STATE SUPERINTENDENT

June 10, 2016

Mr. John Sprowl, President

Board of Education
Crosswell-Lexington Community Schools
5461 East Peck Road
Croswell, MI 48422
Mr. Sprowl:
The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) continues to receive inquiries
about the recent State Aid Penalty levied against the district because of the
non-certification of three school administrators. In the interest of
transparency, and to provide my continued support to the Board and
Superintendent, I am sharing with you the most recent information that will
be provided to the media and interested citizens. As you can see, by the cc
below, the individuals will be provided a copy of this correspondence and
attachments.
1.

2.

3.

A timeline of correspondence associated with this complaint,

including the dates of legislative changes, notifications and
recipients, is included as Attachment A. All earlier public
notifications related to administrator certification are included in the
MDE public Memo repository:
http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,4615,7-140-37818_36344--,00.html.
The State Superintendent, in coordination with the Office of
Professional Preparation Services (OPPS) and the Office of State Aid
and School Finance, is responsible for implementing state law that
requires penalties.
A copy of Julie Westerns initial contact with MDE is not included; this
contact was made by telephone.

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

JOHN C. AUSTIN PRESIDENT CASANDRA E. ULBRICH VICE PRESIDENT
MICHELLE FECTEAU SECRETARY PAMELA PUGH TREASURER
LUPE RAMOS-MONTIGNY NASBE DELEGATE KATHLEEN N. STRAUS
EILEEN LAPPIN WEISER RICHARD ZEILE
608 WEST ALLEGAN STREET P.O. BOX 30008 LANSING, MICHIGAN 48909
www.michigan.gov/mde 517-373-3324

Mr. John Sprowl

June 10, 2016
Page 2
4.
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14.

A copy of the draft investigation letter, including the recipient of the

letter and estimated penalties, is included as Attachment B.
Copies of the information used to determine the actual fines are
included as Attachments C, D and E.
It is unequivocally the employees responsibility to maintain the
required certifications necessary for employment, as well as
understand and meet the legal requirements necessary for
certification and continuing education.
It is the school districts responsibility tonot permit any of the
following(c) A noncertificated educator to administer instructional
programs in an elementary or secondary school, or in an adult basic
education or high school completion program, unless that educator is
fulfilling applicable continuing education requirements (MCL 388.1763
(2)(c)).
If a school official is notified by the department that he or she is
employing a nonapproved, noncertificated, or unlicensed educator in
violation of this section and knowingly continues to employ that
educator, the school official is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable
by a fine of $1,500.00 for each incidence. This penalty is in addition
to all other financial penalties otherwise specified in this article ((MCL
388.1763(3)).
The amount of the penalty for 2015-2016 academic year for the
three principals lack of certification is specified in Attachment F.
The penalty has been reduced from the estimated amount. The
district has not received additional penalties from MDE for 2015-16.
The opportunity for extended repayment also is included in this
letter.
MDE has levied fines against other districts, besides CrosswellLexington, for noncertification of teachers and administrators.
Whether an entity or individual is required to report an illegal activity
is a legal question best addressed by an attorney.
If the district did not self-report and the lack of certification was
determined at a later date, the district would be penalized.
There are currently no amnesty periods or appeal process for this
law, as it pertains to administrator certification.
The district is not required to enter certificate/license numbers in the
Registry of Educational Personnel (REP) for administrators because
they may be grandparented into the requirement, if they meet
criteria. The district is not required to state that they employ only
certificated principals on the REP report. A variety of MDE offices
review these reports continuously for multiple purposes.

Mr. John Sprowl

June 10, 2016
Page 3
15. MDE does not proffer advice on Board actions specific to changing
the Job Titles of employees.
I would like to take the opportunity to reiterate the State Superintendents
support: as a local school leader, you are often required to make decisions
that are difficult and unpopular, despite being the correct and legal course of
action, and to fulfill this responsibility is to be commended, albeit unfortunate
for everyone involved. Please let me know if I can be of assistance in the
future.
Sincerely,

Leah C. Breen
Office of Professional Preparation Services
Michigan Department of Education
cc:

Julie Western
Venessa Keesler
Bill Disessa
David Head
Phil Chase
Marty Ackley