‘Fired’: Controversy surrounds Christina School District as its longtime lawyer severs ties with its dysfunctional board

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This story was supported by a statehouse coverage grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The troubled Christina School District could soon be left leaderless and without legal counsel.

WHYY News obtained a copy of the Public Integrity Commission’s report questioning the actions of the deputy superintendent, as well as a letter from the district’s longtime lawyer, James McMackin, explaining he is cutting ties with them.

“That’s quite a thing to be fired by one of the top lawyers for school districts in the state,” Christina board member Monica Moriak said.

The district is currently without a superintendent after board members voted 4-3 to place Superintendent Dan Shelton on paid leave earlier this month for reasons that are still unclear. Donald Patton, the board’s president, said during the meeting he had a list of reasons for suspending Shelton but declined to share them publicly. Patton, Vice President Alethea Smith-Tucker and members Y.F. Lou and Naveed Baqir voted as a bloc to oust Shelton, while board members Moriak, Doug Manley and newly sworn-in member Amy Trauth voted in opposition.

A meeting scheduled for July 18 to discuss how the district would be run in Shelton’s absence was canceled. Members of the board said they were unaware of a July 23 workshop listed on the school district’s website. No agenda has been posted for it. The board is scheduled to meet Aug. 13.

State lawmakers representing Newark are continuing to vent their frustration at the recent actions of the board, led by Patton and Smith-Tucker, who were both just re-elected to their positions. The General Assembly ordered the Delaware Department of Justice to monitor the board meetings for the next year because of violations of open meeting and records laws.

House Democratic Reps. Cyndie Romer, Paul Baumbach, Madinah Wilson-Anton, Sophie Phillips and Eric Morrison filed a complaint in May alleging the school board violated the state’s Freedom of Information Law at its March and May meetings.

“Essentially, you’re on probation if you have a deputy attorney general at your meetings for a year,” Baumbach said. “I don’t know, if it was me, I’d try to be on good behavior. But the individuals, the president and vice president of the board, they decided to take a different path.”

Just a few days after the July 9 meeting, McMackin sent a letter saying the board should seek representation with another firm, while declining to say why.

“Disclosure of the reason(s) why I reach this conclusion, publicly or privately, could adversely affect the Board as it now stands or may in the future stand,” the letter states. “My duty of confidentiality is sacrosanct, and it does not expire.”

Now the job of Deputy Superintendent Deirdra Joyner could be in danger. The Public Integrity Commission, which issues advisory opinions on the state’s ethics code, released a report that said Joyner created an appearance of impropriety because she was employed by a company doing business with the school district.

Moriak said she thinks the four-member majority on the board will move next to fire Shelton, while Manley said he believes the next steps will be to suspend or fire Joyner.

“They’ll probably do what they did to Dan [Shelton] because they’re cowards,” he said. “They’ll probably just put her on suspension pending some investigation and then Don [Patton] will attempt to run the district himself.”

Manley said Shelton had informally asked the Public Integrity Commission about how to address the apparent conflict of interest, but did not ask for a written opinion. The board approved bidding out the contract this year.

The advisory opinion requested by Patton in January said Koru Strategy Group’s contract with Christina School District was approved without a competitive bidding process, but it did not render an opinion on the procurement process.

Koru Strategy Group LLC is implementing the district’s five-year strategic plan. The report said Joyner acted as a consultant until Patton raised the issue of a conflict in the fall of 2023. She subsequently stepped down in October of that year. The commission’s report said Joyner had a true conflict of interest and had created an appearance of impropriety.

Patton said the board will discuss the opinion at its August meeting. Joyner did not respond to a request for comment.

A vote on Joyner could be problematic because of the lingering questions regarding the residency of board member Naveed Baqir. Some members of the board in the Newark community say his votes might be invalid.

Manley has challenged Baqir’s eligibility to remain on the school board because Baqir has reportedly resided outside of Delaware since January. Baqir has been living in Pakistan, according to some of the board members. He joined the July 9 board meeting virtually. Manley said Baqir’s extended absence from residing in his district disqualifies him from being a board member and participating in votes.

Manley sent a letter to the DOJ earlier this month, asking them to investigate his residency. A DOJ spokesperson said they are reviewing the letter like they review all letters sent to them, but that does not mean they are investigating concerns regarding Baqir’s residency.

Baqir would not speak on the record to WHYY News about his residency status. In a statement last week, Patton said Baqir remains a district resident because he has not been away from Delaware for 495 days or more in the past 18 months and maintains a house in the district, where his parents and children live.

The Delaware Attorney General’s office said neither the Department of Elections nor the Department of Education have the power to investigate whether an elected office lives in their district. The DOJ also lacks the power to give school boards legal advice. Under state law, school boards are required to report if a vacancy opens up on its board.

Baumbach has sponsored legislation adding residency requirements for members of the General Assembly in the state constitution. He says he believes lawmakers next year will take up legislation that will address issues around residency for school board members. He is not running for re-election.

The Christina School District posted a statement to its Facebook page acknowledging the concerns of the public. It said it understood recent developments have sparked a range of emotions among families, staff and the community.

“Our top priority is and will always be the education and well-being of the young people in our care,” it stated. “We are dedicated to providing a safe, supportive and inclusive learning environment that fosters academic excellence, creativity and growth.”

The statement was not attributed to anyone and did not allow for public comments.