Board puts DSM superintendent on leave, decries "misinformation"
"Enough with the name-calling"
This original reporting first appeared at Bleeding Heartland and is shared here as part of the Iowa Writers Collaborative. Laura’s initial story on ICE detaining Dr. Ian Roberts can be found here. For regular emails linking to all recent Bleeding Heartland articles and commentary, subscribe to the free Evening Heartland newsletter.
UPDATE: On September 29, the Des Moines School Board learned that the Iowa Board of Education Examiners had revoked Roberts’ administrator license, and received from federal authorities a copy of the final order of removal and other documentation indicating that Roberts was not authorized to work in the U.S. The board held another special meeting at which members voted to put Roberts on unpaid leave. They also gave his attorney until noon on September 30 to provide documents supporting his claim to citizenship. Otherwise the school district will start the process of terminating his contract. Original post follows.
Members of the Des Moines School Board voted unanimously on September 27 to place Superintendent Dr. Ian Roberts on paid administrative leave, one day after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained him. ICE has said Roberts is unlawfully present in the U.S. and lacks work authorization.
In support of the motion she offered at the special meeting, school board member Kimberly Martorano said, “While there is still much that we don’t know, what we do know is that Dr. Roberts is currently unavailable to perform his duties as superintendent.” She said Iowa Code Chapter 279 and “standard district practice” called for putting Roberts on paid administrative leave “pending further information. The board may revisit this at any time that we have obtained additional concrete information relevant to Dr. Roberts’ status.”
“NO ONE HERE WAS AWARE OF ANY CITIZENSHIP OR IMMIGRATION ISSUES”
Following the three-minute meeting, school board president Jackie Norris read a statement aloud on behalf of the whole board. Board member Maria Alonzo then read the same statement in Spanish.
Norris said Roberts has served as “enthusiastic voice” for student academic success and the need to support public education. “So yesterday came as a shock to all of us. I want to be clear today: we still do not have all of the facts.”
ICE has said that an immigration judge issued a final removal order for Roberts in May 2024. “We were not made aware of that fact, and that’s very concerning,” Norris said. “I want to be clear: no one here was aware of any citizenship or immigration issues that Dr. Roberts may have been facing.” She said ICE had made “very serious” accusations against the superintendent, “and we are taking them very seriously.”
“DR. ROBERTS AFFIRMED THAT HE WAS A CITIZEN”
Republican politicians in Iowa and nationally have accused the school district and its board members of failing to vet Roberts before hiring him in 2023. So in her September 27 remarks, Norris explained the hiring process in more detail than the district provided in an earlier statement.
She noted that employers “are required to verify employment eligibility for all employees.” Roberts completed an I-9 eligibility verification form and “submitted the required documentation. Everything the district has on file indicates that Dr. Roberts affirmed that he was a citizen who was eligible to work in the school district.”
Norris added that when the Iowa Department of Education issued a superintendent license to Roberts in 2023, “The agency says an FBI criminal background check did not raise issues, and Roberts said he was a U.S. citizen on the application.” ICE said on September 26 that Roberts had a prior weapons charge; that may refer to a citation for possessing a loaded firearm in a vehicle, which occurred after a hunting outing in Pennsylvania.
CHECKS “FOUND NOTHING RELATED TO CITIZENSHIP OR IMMIGRATION MATTERS”
Some Republicans have claimed the Des Moines Public Schools did not look for any criminal record. But Norris said, “Of course, the school district ensured that a background check was conducted before hiring Dr. Roberts. That is done for every person who is hired by the district, and periodic reviews are conducted on a regular basis for all current employees.”
She then walked through the hiring process. Here’s the timeline:
December 2022: Des Moines Public Schools “approved a contract with JG Consulting as the district’s search firm to bring qualified superintendent candidates for our consideration.”
January to March 2023: JG Consulting recruited potential candidates, and the board worked with the firm on issues “related to the qualifications and characteristics of candidates.”
April 11 to 13, 2023: The school board interviewed applicants.
May 16, 2023: The board approved Roberts’ first contract.
July 1, 2023: Roberts began working as superintendent.
JG Consulting used a third party, Baker-Eubanks, to conduct “comprehensive criminal, credit and background checks.” Those “found nothing related to citizenship or immigration matters related to Dr. Roberts.”
July 11, 2023: the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners issued a superintendent license to Roberts, following his 20 years of experience in Pennsylvania, Missouri, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and New York.
Norris said the school district “is cooperating with requests for information” from state authorities and will continue to do so.
“ENOUGH WITH THE NAME-CALLING AND MISINFORMATION”
Before wrapping up her remarks, Norris said, “We all need to cool down the rhetoric. We should promote true discourse and facts, not spread misinformation meant to divide us.” She went on:
Our elected officials need to behave like role models for our children. Enough with the name-calling and misinformation that is meant to divide us. We are talking about human beings.
Our kids are watching. They are online 24/7, on social media and phones, and what they see right now is likely very difficult for them to process.
While we work to address this personnel issue, we must continue to lift up our district, our students, and staff, and push back against hateful rhetoric against us.
The Des Moines Register compiled some of the political reaction to Roberts’ arrest. Iowa House Government Oversight Committee chair Charley Thomson has signaled plans to investigate the situation. Republican State Representative Austin Harris slammed what he called a “failure in oversight,” while his Iowa House GOP colleague Taylor Collins called on all Des Moines school board members to resign.
A statement from the Republican Party of Iowa claimed, “DMPS leadership hired a criminal illegal alien with prior weapons charges to run Iowa’s largest school district.” The National Republican Senatorial Committee directed its attack at Norris, who is also seeking the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate: “As chair of the Des Moines School Board, Iowa Democrat Senate candidate Jackie Norris hired an illegal alien with a rap sheet to be her Superintendent and work with children.”
(That’s not accurate: Teree Caldwell-Johnson was school board president when Roberts signed his first contract in May 2023.)
ROBERTS HAS LEGAL REPRESENTATION
Roberts has retained the Des Moines-based Parrish Kruidenier law firm, which is among Iowa’s top criminal defense firms. Senior partner Alfredo Parrish told the Des Moines Register he had spoken with his client on the morning of September 27.
Roberts is being detained in the Woodbury County Jail in Sioux City, after ICE initially took him from Des Moines to the Pottawattamie County Jail.
In obtuse retaliatory form the Republican Party of Iowa blames the DMPS for “hiring a criminal illegal alien”. Talking about toning down the rhetoric while the leaders themselves attack, blame and create division and conveniently forget that they themselves have placed a 34 times indicted criminal into the WH.
I will wait until we have all the information to try to understand what happened, but a couple of things are obvious. Dr. Roberts was beloved as a leader and helping DMPS make strides in the education of our children and youth. This is a personal tragedy.
The other obvious thing is that some of our elected representatives are using this moment for political gain. Their accusations toward the school board are insidious and malevolent. I applaud Jackie Norris and the Board for their honest explanation and quick response, and for calling out the despicable rhetoric.