Ian Roberts, the former superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, pleaded guilty earlier this year to immigration and weapons charges that prosecutors said stemmed from years of deception about his legal status in the United States. Roberts, who was born in Guyana, is expected to face deportation after serving his sentence.
He wanted probation, the judge, surprisingly, gave him twenty-four months in jail.
Which is long overdue justice. But here’s the thing. Yeah, he lied about his education and his legal status and bought guns that he wasn’t legally able to own, but what about the people who were supposed to vet this guy?
Due to their dereliction and laziness, he was allowed to work around and with children. The school district is suing its search firm:
According to the District’s contract with JG Consulting, the firm’s duties included “advertising, search, recruitment, application and resume review, public domain search, complete reference checks and presentation of qualified candidates.” In addition, JG Consulting would “conduct comprehensive reference calls on each applicant to include the verification of all related employment experiences. JG Consulting will arrange for comprehensive criminal, credit, and background checks to be conducted by a third party. ”
A transcript check would be really easy. The candidate contacts their former schools and has a transcript sent directly to a requestor. That information alone, since he lied about his educational experience, would have red-flagged him. He should have flagged on any criminal check since he had a deportation order.
The school board is also trying to foist its responsibility for due diligence off on their consultants. They should know what’s needed and asked for (and reviewed) everything to find any discrepencies.
All of those board members should resign. But none of them will. And none of them will see the inside of a courtroom.
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