Dismissed Ogden principal sues CPS while parents complain about abusive practices
By Jim Vail
There are two sides to every story.
The Ogden School community has been divided – one side believes Principal Michael Beyer was unfairly removed from the school for attendance fraud, while the other side says he was a vindictive administrator who mercilessly targeted his opponents.
Beyer is now suing the district claiming that he is being targeted for whistle blowing. He claims he was not given his due process rights and was targeted for speaking out.
“CPS is pursuing termination as retaliation after creating a hostile environment for whistle blowing,” Beyer’s human rights complaint states.
CPS said Beyer is facing termination hearings because the CPS Inspector General found that he oversaw intentional falsification of attendance records, noting that he was illegally helping students transfer out of the school in order to not get penalized for absences.
According to a Wbez report, Beyer was given a warning resolution from the Chicago Board of Education in 2015 because he had posted a message on Facebook asking parents to help clean up the school over the weekend. CPS was battling negative media attention after privatized custodial services resulted in numerous complaints of filthy schools. CPS called the post “unbecoming of a principal.”
Beyer also complained about cuts to special education and helped organize principals to collectively address the cuts. CPS has also been under attack for not staffing enough special education teachers, another media nightmare.
His human rights complaint argues that CPS was sending a message to stop complaining when they issued the warning resolution.
But one parent said Beyer was a vindictive principal.
“Beyer was terrible to so many parents,” Nancy Carson told this newspaper. “There were so many complaints, it was unreal it took CPS so long to let him go. But they had to get him on something concrete, and they finally did.”
Carson said she took her child who needed specialized services out of the school after battling with the principal.
“Beyer is kind of like Trump in the fact if you are ‘loyal’ to him and go along with whatever he says, then you, and your child get treated like royalty. So, for instance, one staff member gets to store her motorcycle all year in the Ogden garage. Another parent, who lives out of the Ogden boundaries, gets to send their child to Ogden. But, if you disagree with Beyer, he will make your life miserable. For instance, I objected to my special needs child being taught in a closet. When Beyer didn’t respond to me, I went over his head. Well, hell hath no fury as Beyer being scorned.”
Beyer retaliated against her by deciding she wasn’t allowed to use handicapped parking to transport her special needs son back and forth to school, she said.
“His new rule was only kids on life support,” Carson wrote. “I have a placard from the state of Illinois so he can’t make arbitrary rules. So, of course, I had to go to the OCR (Office of Civil Rights) and make a complaint. Of course I won, but that takes a lot of time and energy. Then after I won that, he tried other things to hurt my family. Again, more time and energy. For instance, he had a security guard push me and my son down the stairs and tried to blame it on me. There are cameras all over the place, so that didn’t work either.”
Carson said other parents have had to pull their kids from Ogden because they claim he refused to follow IEP’s (Individualized Education Plan) if you crossed him.
The Inspector General (IG) made the recommendation to fire Beyer based upon evidence of falsifying attendance records. His lawyer said they should provide an un-redacted version of their report so that his client can answer the charges. Beyer is currently suspended pending the outcome of his dismissal process.
The IG office has been used in the past to go after school personnel considered a political hot potato.
“Beyer is the second principal since CPS CEO Janice Jackson took over in January known to be removed after the inspector general found records were falsified,” Wbez reported. “The first principal also was vocal about problems within the school district. Prior to Jackson’s tenure, the inspector general uncovered several instances of falsifying records and rarely were principals fired.”
“I take CPS at their word that they fired him for cheating,” Carson said. “Personally, I would have liked to see him fired for trying to ban a handicapped child from using a handicapped parking space, but that is just me.”
By Jim Vail
There are two sides to every story.
The Ogden School community has been divided – one side believes Principal Michael Beyer was unfairly removed from the school for attendance fraud, while the other side says he was a vindictive administrator who mercilessly targeted his opponents.
Beyer is now suing the district claiming that he is being targeted for whistle blowing. He claims he was not given his due process rights and was targeted for speaking out.
“CPS is pursuing termination as retaliation after creating a hostile environment for whistle blowing,” Beyer’s human rights complaint states.
CPS said Beyer is facing termination hearings because the CPS Inspector General found that he oversaw intentional falsification of attendance records, noting that he was illegally helping students transfer out of the school in order to not get penalized for absences.
According to a Wbez report, Beyer was given a warning resolution from the Chicago Board of Education in 2015 because he had posted a message on Facebook asking parents to help clean up the school over the weekend. CPS was battling negative media attention after privatized custodial services resulted in numerous complaints of filthy schools. CPS called the post “unbecoming of a principal.”
Beyer also complained about cuts to special education and helped organize principals to collectively address the cuts. CPS has also been under attack for not staffing enough special education teachers, another media nightmare.
His human rights complaint argues that CPS was sending a message to stop complaining when they issued the warning resolution.
But one parent said Beyer was a vindictive principal.
“Beyer was terrible to so many parents,” Nancy Carson told this newspaper. “There were so many complaints, it was unreal it took CPS so long to let him go. But they had to get him on something concrete, and they finally did.”
Carson said she took her child who needed specialized services out of the school after battling with the principal.
“Beyer is kind of like Trump in the fact if you are ‘loyal’ to him and go along with whatever he says, then you, and your child get treated like royalty. So, for instance, one staff member gets to store her motorcycle all year in the Ogden garage. Another parent, who lives out of the Ogden boundaries, gets to send their child to Ogden. But, if you disagree with Beyer, he will make your life miserable. For instance, I objected to my special needs child being taught in a closet. When Beyer didn’t respond to me, I went over his head. Well, hell hath no fury as Beyer being scorned.”
Beyer retaliated against her by deciding she wasn’t allowed to use handicapped parking to transport her special needs son back and forth to school, she said.
“His new rule was only kids on life support,” Carson wrote. “I have a placard from the state of Illinois so he can’t make arbitrary rules. So, of course, I had to go to the OCR (Office of Civil Rights) and make a complaint. Of course I won, but that takes a lot of time and energy. Then after I won that, he tried other things to hurt my family. Again, more time and energy. For instance, he had a security guard push me and my son down the stairs and tried to blame it on me. There are cameras all over the place, so that didn’t work either.”
Carson said other parents have had to pull their kids from Ogden because they claim he refused to follow IEP’s (Individualized Education Plan) if you crossed him.
The Inspector General (IG) made the recommendation to fire Beyer based upon evidence of falsifying attendance records. His lawyer said they should provide an un-redacted version of their report so that his client can answer the charges. Beyer is currently suspended pending the outcome of his dismissal process.
The IG office has been used in the past to go after school personnel considered a political hot potato.
“Beyer is the second principal since CPS CEO Janice Jackson took over in January known to be removed after the inspector general found records were falsified,” Wbez reported. “The first principal also was vocal about problems within the school district. Prior to Jackson’s tenure, the inspector general uncovered several instances of falsifying records and rarely were principals fired.”
“I take CPS at their word that they fired him for cheating,” Carson said. “Personally, I would have liked to see him fired for trying to ban a handicapped child from using a handicapped parking space, but that is just me.”
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