The Return of Two Former SPS Employees is Not Good News - Part One

Several of my readers have mentioned that former assistant superintendent, Keisha Scarlett, has returned to Seattle. She brings with her a lot of baggage.

Dr. Scarlett was with SPS for more than a decade and has been a teacher, principal, Chief Academic Officer and, in what turned out to be very short-term, superintendent. 

In her last years at SPS, there were two major items about Scarlett. 

One, she and Manal Al-ansi, an Executive Director, filed a formal complaint to the School Board about their treatment by then-Board director Chandra Hampson and then-Board director Zachary DeWolf. An investigation - demanded by Hampson and DeWolf - then blew up in the directors' faces as they were found to have committed HIB (harassment, intimidation, and bullying) against the two women. (They were both found not to have done it for racial reasons. It is worth noting that both Scarlett and Al-ansi are Black and Hampson and DeWolf are both Native American.)

However, it was striking that the two victims were naive enough to think that the Board president at the time - Brandon Hersey - would handle it himself and just quietly issue 

What we do know is Hampson and DeWolf had hubris in asking for an investigation and, because the findings went against them, it is unlikely either will ever run for public office again. 

Second, when Scarlett was last at SPS, she had been applying for several superintendent jobs and was a frequent finalist but always a bridesmaid and never a bride. However in 2023, she did secure the job in St. Louis Public Schools. Less than a year later, she was put on leave by their Board after an investigation which then led, according to news reports, to her firing. 

From Spectrum News:

There was a formal hearing but she "boycotted" it because she said:

the district violated her due process rights when it banned her from communicating with potential witnesses who would have supported her case.

The Board had allegedly found questionable hiring, salaries, and spending by Scarlett.

The report found $26,500 in questionable charges on cards issued to Scarlett for items like charcuterie boards, Edible Arrangements, Massage Envy, church gala, donation to the Missouri Botanical Garden, among others. She was also incurring automobile charges on her district card while receiving an $800 monthly vehicle allowance, according to the report. 

The audit also looked at hiring practices. It points out $146,000 was spent on temporary contracts for newly hired chiefs and cabinet members for work prior to their “official” start dates. She also authorized retroactive payments to eight chiefs and deputies totaling $94,801, the report stated.

One of those hires? Manal Al-Ansi, her former SPS co-worker. She also left SLPS and is a consultant.

Now, Scarlett is suing the district, seeking $25,000 in damages. She says the district violated her contract by placing her on leave before talking to her about their concerns.

What is fascinating is that Scarlett has landed back in Seattle with not one but two consulting firms, Rubescent and Woven. The former is:

"a strategic advisory firm for public sector agencies, K-12 school systems, and mission-driven nonprofits. Services include governance design, systems transformation, leadership pipeline development, and equity-centered organizational strategy. Home of the VIVID™ Framework - a proprietary talent infrastructure diagnostic built for public and mission-driven systems."

and the latter is:

"Executive advisory for women leading in politically visible, resource-constrained, and high-scrutiny public environments. Powered by Rubescent's VIVID™ Framework. Serving K-12 education, nonprofit, and public sector leaders nationally."

Her Linked In page says both firms are nearly two and a half years old and yet that would mean she developed them during her time at SLPS.

I did check out the VIVID Framework and sigh - it's another "vision of the future, clarify and communicate," blah, blah.

I did have to smile at Scarlett's list of skills because they include "relationship building" and "strategic leadership."

I can only hope that Superintendent Shuldiner and Seattle Public Schools have the good sense to NOT even consider hiring Dr. Scarlett.