Dr. Shultz September 8, 2021 Update

Update on Recent Allegations; BOE Vacancy
Posted on 09/08/2021
Update from the Superintendent, Dr. Carl ShultzSeptember 8, 2021
Dear Bedford Students, Families, and Staff

The first day of school for students is finally in the books and I could not have been happier to see our students once again inside of our school buildings. The ongoing bond projects from the summer have nearly all been completed. Those that are still in progress will be completed throughout the fall after school and on the weekends. I typically wait until the end of our first week to send my superintendent update, however, there are two topics I feel need to be addressed as soon as possible relating to the district and community.

Yesterday morning, the district accepted the resignation of BPS Board of Education Trustee, Mr. Todd Bruning. Mr. Bruning’s current elected term was set to expire on December 31, 2022; however, a ruling by the Monroe County Circuit Court stated his role as a trustee on both the BPS Board of Education and the Bedford Township Board of Trustees creates an incompatibility of offices. The newly vacant seat on the BPS Board will be filled according to the Board of Education Bylaws. A posted Notice of Board Vacancy will be added to the BPS website within the next 24 hours outlining the process for interested applicants.

As many of you may already be aware, Ann Arbor Pioneer High School canceled this past Friday’s scheduled varsity football game due to a protest. The protest stems from an allegation that one of our BHS JV football players used a racial slur toward a Pioneer player during Thursday evening’s game between the two schools. In response to Ann Arbor Pioneer’s forfeiture of the game, I released a public statement condemning the use of any such alleged language, as well as sharing our district’s disappointment in the lack of communication and timely sharing of information from Ann Arbor Pioneer's Administration regarding the incident. I want to reiterate for our community, if the allegation is substantiated, there will be significant consequences for the individual(s) involved including suspension from school and permanent removal from all BPS Athletic Teams. The incident has been thoroughly investigated by BHS Administration using the information available. This investigation included BHS player and coach’s interviews, review of game footage, as well as discussions with the MHSAA officiating crew working the game and their submitted game report regarding the alleged incident. BHS Administration also requested any additional information the Ann Arbor Pioneer Administrative staff can provide regarding their investigation of the alleged incident. We are still waiting for a response. This incident has made local news headlines and as you can imagine has cast our Bedford community in a negative light. District leaders have spoken with BHS athletes and will address this topic with all high school students in the upcoming days as BHS competes with Ann Arbor’s high schools in every sport as members of the SEC Conference. We are asking BHS students and community members not engage in any type of social media response to this situation. I have received screen shots of images of former and current BHS football players that have been negatively altered to portray a racist demeanor by those outside of the district. These images will be handed over to Ann Arbor Pioneer's Administration as many of them originate from what appears to be an Ann Arbor Pioneer student-led Twitter account.

I am looking forward to seeing all of you at the scheduled upcoming back-to-school events taking place throughout the district. Thank you and please continue to be safe Bedford!

Respectfully,
Dr. Carl Shultz
BPS Superintendent
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