School Supt. drops complaint against school board member

Van Buren Township Public Schools Supt. Michael Van Tassel filed an assault complaint against school board member Sherry Frazier on Thursday afternoon, Jan. 28, after she had a loud meeting with him at the administration building.
Then, a week later, on Feb. 4, Supt. Van Tassel told Belleville Police that he would not pursue the charge.
“He decided he didn’t want to push the incident further,” said Belleville Police Chief Hal Berriman.
Frazier said she and Van Tassel had raised their voices in a discussion about the Savage Elementary teachers that were put on paid administrative leave and other issues.
Trustee Frazier said Belleville Police Cpl. Todd Schrecengost told her he got a call from the administration building that said an irate parent was at the board office. When he got there, Cpl. Schrencengost said Van Tassel told him Frazier was going to attack him.
She said she and Van Tassel were talking and, “Mr. Van Tassel was hollering just as much as I was.”
Frazier said it all started when she emailed Van Tassel asking if they could have a meeting so she could clarify some things. She received a response from Van Tassel’s secretary Pam Johnson, saying 4 p.m. on Thursday would be good.
Frazier said she contacted board president Brent Mikulski to invite him to come along, but he was busy with his work. She called Trustee Kathy Kovach and she agreed to come to the meeting.
Frazier said she started off questioning Van Tassel about “why this tragedy” is occurring, with a cheating story about Van Buren Schools in the Michigan Association of School Boards publication as well as all over the Detroit media.
She said she told him, “It all lies at your feet because you started the investigation.”
She said she told him when there was accused cheating at Haggerty a few years ago, the school district got the same letter from the state, but nobody in the public knew about it because he didn’t publicize it.
“Why was nothing said about Haggerty?” she asked.
She said Van Tassel told her that was because Haggerty was going to be closed.
Frazier said a crying mother of a third grader called her and said her student cried because her teacher cried when she was removed. The child asked his mom if he was a cheater because his teacher is a cheater.
Frazier said she asked Van Tassel why he didn’t talk about Haggerty and put it out in public but walked teachers out in front of their students at Savage.
She reports, Van Tassel replied, “I had to. Legal counsel advised me to. You want me to go against legal advice?”
Frazier said she’d like to see some common sense used.
She said that contrary to what Van Tassel said, board members did not get information on what he was going to do to the Savage teachers before he marched them out and put them on leave.
Frazier said he called her a liar and slammed his fist down on the table and said, “Miss Frazier. I don’t have to take this abuse from you.”
She said he turned and was walking out of the conference room, away to his office and she touched his shirt to get his attention at the doorway to his office. She said Trustee Kovach placed herself between them and walked Van Tassel to his desk. Curriculum Director Jeff Moore, Shonte Langford-Green, Pam Johnson, and James Williams were in the area outside his office and all filled out statements following Van Tassel’s complaint to police.
Frazier said Van Tassel had told her he has a source that said Frazier had been at Savage School questioning teachers.
“Whoever your source is, I have not stepped inside Savage School this year,” Frazier said she replied.
Frazier said she told Van Tassel she did not appreciate him calling her a liar.
“Show me the email,” Frazier said she insisted and Van Tassel did not reply.
At that point, Frazier said, Green told Moore to get his phone out.
Frazier said Pam Johnson said it was appalling that school board members would go on social media. Frazier said she replied she plays games on social media and told Johnson that Johnson asked Frazier to be her Friend on Facebook and Johnson denied that.
Frazier said she left the building of her own volition and got in her car. She said there was no one in the parking lot or following her. She took a quick trip to West Grand Boulevard in Detroit and was on I-94 coming back from Detroit when she saw she had a call from the administration building. When she answered it, it was Cpl. Schrencengost telling her she had a complaint filed against her for assault.
Frazier said she told the officer that Van Tassel and her both lost their cool and the frustration level was pretty high, but they were just talking loudly.
She said when someone calls her a liar that really upsets her.
Frazier said she was asked to write a statement for the police and on Friday afternoon, the next day, she was working on it. She said the Detroit Free Press had just called her and she had talked to them.
Frazier said a longtime Belleville real estate broker called her and asked what Van Tassel is trying to do.
The broker said real estate companies are trying to get people into the community, but clients are asking questions about the terrible news about the school.
One asked, “What is your superintendent doing? Throwing the district under the bus?”
Frazier, who is a real estate salesperson, said she has a professional couple that is looking at a home in Van Buren Township and they heard news about cheating at Van Buren Public Schools and then went on the school website where they saw the second letter.
The couple is leery about moving into such a school district.
“This is not good for business, not good for kids,” said the broker.
“I guess I should say I’m lucky I got an audience with him,” Frazier said. She said board vice president Martha Toth “is always in his office” and Frazier has only been allowed in his office once.
“I’m always sent to the conference room,” Frazier said.
Frazier said when she asked Van Tassel about while there were 12 teachers who gave the test at Savage, how did he determine to take five off the job?
“Was it because they were friends with the former principal?” she asked.
In looking back, she said she remembers Moore saying one of those teachers removed, was “an exceptional teacher.”
Another teacher removed, was on the BHS cheerleading team with Green, who removed her from Savage that day. Frazier asked how Green could remove her friend?
She noted that the five teachers her granddaughter has had so far in her school years have had to resign.
“I’ve been concerned, but maybe I’m daydreaming,” Frazier said.
A parent reported to the Independent that on Jan. 26, the day after the last school board meeting, Pam Johnson called the police after the parent insisted on talking with Van Tassel. A father who also tried to see Van Tassel that day said he couldn’t see him and Johnson wouldn’t make an appointment for him to see Van Tassel about the Savage scandal.
A report by Channel 2 News on the Feb. 4 6 o’clock news, started out with Anchor Hewell Perkins saying they had another “shocking” report out of Van Buren Public Schools. A reporter interviewed Frazier and tried to talk to Van Tassel.
Moore came to the door of the administration building and told the news crew that Van Tassel was in a very long meeting, but said he would come back to tell them when Van Tassel could meet with them. The reporter said he never came back.
A camera focused through the window of the administration building meeting room, where people were gathered, and then somebody quickly closed the slats that covered the window. They never interviewed Van Tassel on the subject.
In Frazier’s television interview, she told about how she just put her hand on his shirt to get his attention when he turned from her to stalk out of the conference room into his office.
She touched him and, she said, that’s when he screamed, “Do not touch me!” She left and found out later he complained to police that she grabbed his arm and poked him. Not true, she said.