Ferndale Gets $25K Settlement from Ex-Superintendent's Firm

FERNDALE, MI – Former longtime Ferndale Public Schools Superintendent Gary Meier’s charter school management company has paid $25,000 to settle the district’s lawsuit alleging Meier used taxpayer resources to support a company that competed against Ferndale schools’ interests.

According to reports from the Detroit Free Press and The Daily Tribune, both Meier and his company, Equity Education Management Solutions, were named in the Ferndale school board lawsuit that was dismissed last month in Oakland County Circuit Court.

Meier had been the district superintendent from 2000 until his retirement in May 2014, when school officials discovered that he and other Ferndale employees had been involved in forming and operating Equity Education Management Solutions, according to the lawsuit.

The district’s former attorney and public relations director also worked simultaneously for the district and Meier’s consulting firm.

The lawsuit alleged that Meier “had dedicated extensive preparation before May 2014 to open the charter school, while at the same time he was employed as superintendent of Ferndale Public Schools.”

Ferndale Superintendent Blake Prewitt said in a statement Wednesday that Meier created Equity “to provide consulting and management services to charter schools that directly compete with Ferndale Public Schools.”

“The board was compelled to act when it became clear that district resources and personnel had been used in a manner inconsistent with the district’s interests and for the benefit of a company created by Mr. Meier,” Prewitt said.

Meier denied wrongdoing and said feels vindicated, according to his attorney, Paul Mersino. Meier fulfilled his duties as superintendent, which Mersino said was reflected when the evaluation panel assigned to the case didn’t order him to personally pay damages.

School attorney Scott Hamilton said the district agreed to the $25,000 payout — the minimum it asked for in the lawsuit — and agreed to a settlement to avoid the cost of a trial.

“How he can say this constitutes a victory or vindication for him is beyond me,” Hamilton told The Daily Tribune. “The case evaluation panel saw fit to award the district $25,000 from Mr. Meier’s company.”