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Mount Clemens school district officials are reviewing and strengthening their policies regarding the use of school facilities following an event at the district’s high school last weekend that featured a dancer parents and officials called “inappropriate.”
Superintendent Monique Beels on Wednesday said training staff regarding board policy has already begun and the district will now require advance review of flyers for upcoming events at school facilities.
“Some of the things that we’re going to be requiring is that… all flyers related to any events need to be turned in prior to the event, so those will all be reviewed,” Beels said. “We are going to enforce a two week timeline… If they’re wishing to use our facilities for a charity, nonprofit event, they have to let us know at least two weeks in advance.”
The changes come after one of Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s top officials called on the district to “take action” following a controversial event, “Peezy’s Sweetest Day Bash,” was held by a nonprofit at Mount Clemens High School.
The bash was put on Saturday night by Rivals Recruiting Worldwide, a nonprofit led by Quentin Hines, a former NFL player and Mount Clemens High School alumnus. The event — which was supposed to support the organization that works to spotlight undiscovered or overlooked entertainers and athletes — was initially scheduled to take place at Wisner Memorial Stadium but was moved to the high school’s gymnasium due to cold weather.
Video of the event shows rapper O.T. Rell walking around the gym floor shirtless while a woman in a swimsuit twerked. Hines told The News that he didn’t know the woman would be underdressed and apologized to anyone who was offended on Monday.
But Tricia Foster, the governor’s chief operating officer, sent a letter to Beels on Monday expressing disapproval of the event and urging the district to “take action.”
“All of us, regardless of where we live or who we are, want the same things for our kids: a world-classeducation to excel in life and work. Our schools serve as the foundation of these goals and pillars of ourcommunities, so it is important that every district presents an appropriate environment of learning thatputs the best interest of students and parents first at all times,” Foster wrote. “What has been reported from this weekend does not comport with these goals or values.”
Foster called on the school district to conduct a review of the event and hold “the right people accountable.”
“We are asking for the school district to conduct an immediate review to determine how such a largeoversight or lapse in judgment was allowed to occur,” she wrote. “We are further asking that you take action to holdthe right people accountable for the events that unfolded. Lastly, we are encouraging the school districtto implement policies, procedures, and safeguards to ensure this never happens again.”
Rivals Recruiting Worldwide, meanwhile, has been banned from using Mount Clemens High School facilities and the district is investigating their process of facility use and rentals, according to a statement from Beels earlier this week.
“The Mount Clemens Community Schools’ Board of Education and Administration are deeply shocked, disappointed, and disgusted by the inappropriate events that took place Saturday,” Beels said. “We will conduct a full review of our current practices of facility rentals and usage, and work to ensure that our community does not compromise the values and actions that we work to instill in our students.”
While Beels isn’t sure what the new policies will look like, the school board will likely be meeting in the next 10 days to decide. The school has already started to make a lot of the changes suggested in the chief operating officer’s letter, she said.
“We have a lot of really positive things that are happening with our kids right now… and all of this is detracting from all of this wonderfulness that they’re doing,” Beels added. “The kids had nothing to do with this and it’s not fair.”
hmackay@detroitnews.com
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