Dr. Kruppe Stays: Hazel Park School Board Votes to Reinstate Superintendent
(Crystal A. Proxmire, May 15, 2025)
Hazel Park, Ferndale, MI – After 108 days on paid administrative leave, neither Dr. Amy Kruppe nor members of the public have been given a reason for the Superintendent’s suspension. However, the Hazel Park School Board did vote Thursday night to reinstate her, to be effective on or before June 30.
At a special meeting on Jan. 27, the Hazel Park School Board had voted unanimously to place Superintendent Amy Kruppe on non-disciplinary paid administrative leave while they conduct an investigation into potential school board policy violations.
The decision came following a closed session portion of the meeting, and no specific reason was given to the public.
“No claim has been made. We’ve been provided no charges to date,” said an attorney for Kruppe.
The School Board had put Kruppe on paid leave, hired an interim Superintendent who was also being paid, and hired a law firm outside of the board’s typical legal council to conduct an investigation. In March the board voted to hire a second investigator to look into claims that school board members may have acted inappropriately by entering Kruppe’s office and searching the office and her computer. The first attorney has been working at a fee of $250 per hour plus travel, and the second has been working at $350 per hour plus travel. From January through March the cost of the investigations and the dual Superintendents’ salaries has been estimated at over $97,000, not including whatever bills there will be for April and May.
The School Board had originally voted to add an update on the investigation to the agenda for Thursday’s special meeting. However after coming out of closed session School Board President Beverly Hinton announced that an update would have to wait for a future date because they had not yet received the report from the second attorney.
In spite of not revealing more about the investigation, the board voted unanimously to reinstate Dr. Kruppe. When the vote was taken, members of the audience who had been supportive of the Superintendent stood up and cheered.
Kruppe has been Superintendent of the Hazel Park School District since 2015. She has four years remaining on her contract. The board could decide to fire her, but only if they had cause. Since the administrative leave Dr. Kruppe has retained an attorney to represent her.
At previous meetings, and at Thursday’s meeting, members of the public have spoken in support of the Superintendent during the public comment section of the meeting. “This board has provided zero transparency,” said Jennifer Jackson. She said that recall efforts were in the works for members who are eligible for recall. “The first rule of being on school board is kids come first,” she said.
Sara Pritchard called for the board to release the results of the investigation. “We no longer trust you,” she said. “We paid for that investigation and we don’t want to wait for summer.”
Kristy Cales hopes that Kruppe will be able to return before June 30. “Get this done quickly so Dr. Kruppe can hand out diplomas on our graduation,” she said. “My son would like nothing more than to accept his diploma from his superintendent of the past 10 years.”
Kruppe declined to comment directly due to the nature of the situation. However her attorney told Oakland County Times, “I think it’s safe to say that Dr. Kruppe is looking forward to getting back to work.”
Hinton said that the District would sent out a letter on Monday notifying parents of the reinstatement.
