IC Board member censured

Removed from committees after AD files grievance

 

IMLAY CITY — Following a months long investigation into an alleged case of workplace harassment by a member of the Imlay City Board of Education, the board has taken action to hand down the stiffest penalty allowed.

Through a Resolution approved by his peers, Board Trustee Alex Lengemann was given a board censure as a result of findings from the investigation.

According to the resolution, Lengemann, who was voted on to the board in 2020 with a six-year term that expires in 2026, was the target of a formal complaint alleging he had “engaged in a pattern of workplace harassment reaching as far back as school year 2021,” submitted by Athletic Director, Don Gauthier.

The AD requested the Board take action at their November 26, 2024 meeting.

In a statement to the Tri-City Times, Supt. Dr. Stu Cameron said, “The district was provided a number of sample resolution templates from the Board’s attorney at the Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB), and a draft was generated based on those templates. The resulting draft document was reviewed by our local attorney on retainer with the district, and as a course of business, presented to the Board for consideration as one possible course of action after reviewing the findings report and hearing a statement from Trustee Lengemann.”

The Supt. went on to add, “The Board reviewed the draft and had an opportunity to propose revisions or edit the document via consensus during the meeting. This was followed by a motion to approve the Board-revised censure resolution, support for the motion, additional discussion, and then a roll-call vote was taken.

The vote to approve the censure resolution was unanimous, including Mr. Lengemann’s vote to approve. “

Below is the resolution passed by the Imlay City school board:

WHEREAS, Alex Lengemann is a Trustee of the Imlay City Schools (alternately, the District or ICS) Board of Education, currently serving a six-year term through December 31 of 2026;

WHEREAS, individual members of the Imlay City Schools Board of Education (the Board) must abide by the laws of the State of Michigan, and act in accordance with the Board of Education’s adopted governing policies, by-laws and protocols, including those governing Board Member ethics and conduct;

WHEREAS, members of the Imlay City Schools Board of Education, as an active affiliate of the Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB), collectively and individually pledge accountability to the MASB Indicators of Effective Boards and Board Members;

WHEREAS, a formal complaint alleging that Board Trustee Alex Lengemann has engaged in a pattern of workplace harassment reaching as far back as school year 2021, was submitted by ICS Athletic Director, Don Gauthier, to the ICS Board of Education with a request for Board action on November 26, 2024;

WHEREAS, it is vitally important that our school community, students, and staff have complete confidence in the ability of the Board to hold themselves accountable should individual members of the Board be guilty of violating District policies or practices;

WHEREAS, the District contracted an unbiased third party, attorney Allen Telgenhof of Allen Telgenhof, PLLC, to investigate the workplace harassment complaint;

WHEREAS, a thorough investigation into the formal complaint of workplace harassment has been completed by Attorney Telgenhof, and his findings have been provided to the Board;

WHEREAS, the findings of the Investigation show that Board Trustee Lengemann has violated, in part or whole, the District’s Communication Guide and Protocols for Board Members, and the following District policies and by-laws:
Board Policy 3362: Anti-Harassment
Board Policy 0143.1: Public Expression of Board Members
Board Policy 0144.2: Board Member Ethics, and Board Policy 3112: Board-Staff Communications

WHEREAS, the findings of the Investigation further demonstrate that Trustee Lengemann has failed to conduct himself according to the MASB Indicators of Effective Boards and Board Members;

WHEREAS, the evidence presented in the Investigation support a finding of general harassment of a District employee, ICS Athletic Director, Don Gauthier;

WHEREAS, the totality of these findings demonstrate that Trustee Alex Lengemann has failed to perform his duties in accordance with District by-laws and policies, and in a manner befitting the standards and ethics of the Imlay City Schools and its governing Board of Education;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that this Board hereby formally expresses its strongest disapproval of such conduct by Trustee Lengemann through this Resolution of Censure and directs Trustee Lengemann to cease and desist from any further conduct of a similar nature so that Board members, administrators, and school personnel may continue to work together, unimpeded by interference, in an environment of mutual respect, support, and trust for the betterment of our schools and community.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Board hereby formally expresses its continued dedication to compliance with, and adherence to, its by-laws and policies, and directs Trustee Lengemann to act in accordance with those by-laws and policies.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Board directs Trustee Lengemann to maintain his focus as a member of this Board on matters of importance to the District, rather than those predominantly pertaining to matters of his personal interest.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Board, and its members, including and specifically Trustee Lengemann, shall not micromanage the District, including refraining from directing individual employees of the District to take action in relation to the District operations, District employees, or otherwise, by use of intimidation, harassment, or other measures.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Board directs Trustee Lengemann to cease public criticism of District employees, including and specifically, ICS Athletic Director Don Gauthier; especially those criticisms absent any objective data which serve only to sow mistrust in an employee and/or undermine that employee’s work.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Board is committed to following the procedures and protocols of District’s Communication Guide for Board Members, and demonstrating the MASB Indicators of Effective Boards and Board Members. The Board directs Trustee Lengemann to fulfill his responsibilities as a Trustee of the Imlay City Schools Board of Education in a like manner.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, as a result of Trustee Lengemann’s repeated violations of District policies and communication protocols, that Trustee Lengemann be removed from committee placement for the duration of calendar year 2025.

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that nothing in this censure is intended to, nor shall it be construed to, prevent any member from taking action legally permitted by the District’s by-laws, policies and Code of Ethics, including respectfully advocating their positions on legitimate business before the Board, or from exercising their First Amendment rights, with qualifiers, when appropriate.

According to the Michigan Association of School Boards website, “all board members are elected officials, therefore only the electorate can remove them via either an organized recall campaign (which can be very difficult) or through the regular election process.

Boards, for obvious reasons, have no power to remove fellow board members for what might otherwise amount to poor conduct, no matter how negatively that conduct may impact the district.

The MASB website also stated, “Indeed, unless the individual’s actions rise to the level of a felony conviction, there is no mechanism by which “bad” board members are officially reviewed, disciplined or dismissed from their position.”

MASB officials say there is a misconception among the general populous (and even some school board members) that the Michigan Association of School Boards holds some type of enforcement power over school boards and their members, but of course, this is not the reality.

MASB concluded, “While school boards must comply with many state and federal laws, and can be held responsible for violating those laws by any number of governmental agencies, there is no mechanism through which a board majority might address or otherwise correct the misbehavior of one particular member.”

In a brief statement to the Tri-City Times Friday morning, Mr. Lengemann said, “I acknowledged that I had made some comments on social media that were in violation of board policy. I took steps to delete them a few days thereafter, which was nine months ago. I apologized for it and consider the matter settled.”

Board President Sharon Muir gave the following statement to the Tri-City Times:

“The Imlay City Board of Education strives to be a board of excellence in all matters. We accomplish this by individually and corporately pledging to hold ourselves and one another accountable to the standards and ethics set by the board, by being in compliance with the policies and by-laws governing the board, and by demonstrating the Michigan Association of School Board’s indicators of Effective Boards and Board Members in our deliberations and conduct.”

She went on to say, “Unfortunately, Board Trustee Alex Lengemann violated a number of board policies and communications protocols beginning in 2021, and failed to fulfill his responsibilities as a board member through his words and actions. The Board had a legal and moral obligation to conduct an investigation into allegations of his conduct and consider a number of options in response.

In an unprecedented action, in my twenty years of serving on the Board, the Board voted unanimously to issue a Resolution of Censure and gave Trustee Lengemann a number of directives regarding his future conduct while a member of the Board. In moving forward from this disappointing occurrence, the Board will continue to focus on supporting our incredible staff members to the best of our ability, and maintain our vision and duty of serving the needs of every student every day.”