for the hiring of Ian Roberts, a foreign African national who became the superintendent of Iowa’s largest public school system
Before his arrest, the 52-year-old was making nearly $300,000 as he was allegedly living and working in the United States illegally.
On Friday, the Des Moines Public School Board held a discussion, and Board Chair Jackie Norris directed counsel to pursue legal action against the search firm hired to facilitate the superintendent search in 2022-23 and Roberts subsequent hiring.
“The search firm failed in their duty to properly vet the candidates and Ian Roberts should have never been presented as a potential Superintendent,” said Norris, “JG Consulting’s contract required them to bring all known information of a positive or negative nature to the Board, and since that did not happen the Board will pursue aggressive legal action in accordance with the law.”
The suit claims breach of contract and negligence.
with JG Consulting stated that the firm’s duties included “advertising, search, recruitment, application and resume review, public domain search, complete reference checks and presentation of qualified candidates.” Additionally, the consulting firm would “conduct comprehensive reference calls on each applicant to include the verification of all related employment experiences. JG Consulting will arrange for comprehensive criminal, credit, and background checks to be conducted by a third party. ”
“From the beginning, the Board has taken these allegations incredibly seriously and has done and will continue to do the hard work to get to the facts. The School Board was deceived by Ian Roberts and on behalf of our students, teachers, parents and community – we demand answers,” Norris said, via a press release.
The school district is requesting a jury trial and is seeking damages, saying that reputational harm occurred and costs were inflicted, including superintendent pay, additional hiring process, and more.
“This lawsuit won’t undo the hurt felt by those who have been impacted by our former superintendent,” said Norris, . “The Board’s goal is to provide the facts necessary to firmly close this chapter and begin the process of healing and improving. This district is more than one person, it is 35,000 students, teachers and staff who work to provide an educational experience to help our kids find success.”
Defending Education’s Director of Outreach Erika Sanzi says that Roberts is a pathological liar, especially about the depths of his education and his citizenship status.
She said that Iowa was just looking to check off boxes when hiring Roberts, and there wasn’t a thorough look into his background.
“Iowa is on the hook now, too, because this is exposed—and we reported it in February, by the way—that Iowa has a state law that requires school districts to have affirmative action hiring plans in place, which are against the law,” Sanzi said.
Roberts officially
As the controversies surrounding Roberts continue making headlines nationwide,
While serving as the Principal at Friendship Academy of Science and Technology in Canton, a teacher accused him of pressuring staff to improve students’ grades without cause, even for classes they never attended.
FOX45 has also asked BCPS how Roberts was able to pass a background check despite his immigration status. However, the school system claims his employment falls outside of their records retention period.
In addition to his legal status,
According to the Des Moines School website, “Dr. Roberts holds numerous degrees and certificates including a Ed.D. in Urban Educational Leadership and a master’s degree in education from St. John’s University. He also earned the Harvard University Improving Schools: The Art of Leadership certificate.”
In a statement from Morgan State University, a spokesperson said, “We can confirm that Ian Roberts attended Morgan State University for graduate school from Fall 2002 until Spring 2007. While attending Morgan, he pursued a Doctor of Education in Urban Educational Leadership. He did not receive a degree from Morgan State University. It is our understanding that he holds degrees from other institutions.”
It is not immediately clear if he received his doctorate from a different university.