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HAZEL PARK — The Hazel Park Public Schools Board of Education decided last month to reinstate its superintendent, Amy Kruppe, after 100-plus days of non-disciplinary paid leave.

Since then, Beverly Hinton, the board president and its spokesperson, has raised concerns about the district’s finances. She alleges these concerns were at the heart of the investigation into the superintendent.

But Heidi Sharp, the attorney representing Kruppe, disputes some of the claims.

Failure to audit

According to Hinton, one of the earliest signs of trouble was in June 2024 when the district’s audit firm, Plante Moran, withdrew in an email, after nine years with the district. The firm had not been paid for its 2022-23 audit, billed at nearly $71,000. The firm had also not been provided the information needed to perform its audit on time.

In September 2024. Jason Zirnis, the district’s director of business and operations, announced he was leaving. He had been with the district for six years and reportedly wanted to work closer to home while assisting the district on a part-time basis.

Sharp’s account featured additional detail. According to Sharp, Plante Moran had sought extra charges to which Zirnis did not agree. He arranged for a new firm, UHY, to finish the audit, but the audit was delayed due to Zirnis’ departure, missing the Nov. 1 deadline for state aid.

This led to the state withholding funds. For reference, in the 2023-24 budget, state aid totaled $42 million, delivered in monthly payments from October through June. State aid accounts for roughly 75% of the district’s budget.

Hinton said that in February 2025, the board learned that the district had overspent by about $6 million in the 2023-24 fiscal year. She said this was overlooked due to the lack of an audit.

Sharp said that if Kruppe had been allowed to work as superintendent the last four months, she could have helped the board resolve matters. As it stands, plans for 2025-26 have only begun.

“The board has been aware of the district’s financial condition and all decisions regarding the audit, fund balance and loan, and (the board) made the decisions cited by Ms. Hinton as requiring investigation,” Sharp said. “Accordingly, an investigation was not necessary — just a review of the board’s prior decisions made after relying on Mr. Zirnis’ recommendations.”

Balancing the budget

To shore up the difference, the district had to reach into its fund balance for the current fiscal year, dropping reserves from an 11% fund balance ($5.7 million) to just 1% (nearly $993,000). The use of money from the fund balance helped pay for roughly $4.8 million in raises.

Back in November, the board had approved a resolution to borrow $12 million. The loan was from Huntington Bank and intended for general operating expenses, with payroll being the largest expenditure, covering teachers, administrators and support staff.

Hinton said the interest on that loan is now $500,000 and that the district has paid off roughly $8 million of the $12 million loan, with the rest due this August.

Sharp disagreed with those numbers, saying $8.9 million had been repaid as of Feb. 19, including $97,000 in interest, with $3.1 million left to be repaid, including $120,000 in interest.

“Any interest expense after February is the fault of the board, as it chose not to repay the entire loan without Dr. Kruppe’s participation, because she was already on leave at that time and unable to participate in the decision,” Sharp said. “Had Dr. Kruppe been consulted, she would have recommended that the entire loan be repaid, thus ending any interest expense.”

Hinton said the board’s understanding was this would not have been possible.

“We couldn’t pay it all back at once. If we had, we wouldn’t have had any money to work with in the budget,” Hinton said. “If we could’ve paid it all off at once, we would have done so.”

Ongoing challenges

The board recently examined whether the district needs to borrow again to cover expenses this August and September, when no state aid is provided. It was decided another loan is needed, but officials were unsure of the exact amount.

“Details would depend on the district’s financial situation at that time,” Hinton said.

Sharp said it’s not unusual for districts to evaluate the need for a short-term loan each summer to cover payroll from August through September.

“This is a common practice for Hazel Park and other districts throughout the state, and does not demonstrate financial mismanagement or oversight,” Sharp said.

Hinton said it’s still concerning how much they’ve had to borrow.

“We haven’t had to borrow like this in years,” Hinton said. “Before, the situation seemed relatively stable.”

Hinton said the investigation into the superintendent was a form of due diligence.

“The board holds a position of public trust and accountability to be good stewards of funds received from taxpayers to educate students,” Hinton said.

The board voted 7-0 to put Kruppe on non-disciplinary paid leave on Jan. 27 and then appointed Catherine Cost — a former superintendent of the Wyandotte Public Schools — to serve in her place Feb. 3, pending the results of an investigation.

That work was completed last month, and on May 15, the board unanimously voted to reinstate Kruppe.

The findings

Once Kruppe was reinstated, the board released a statement indicating that an investigation had been completed by the Allen Law Group, P.C., and that the board will address the findings with Kruppe “through disciplinary action, along with a Plan of Assistance to improve some performance deficiencies that were found during the fact-finding process.”

The board also said it would be implementing “another measure that will further support Dr. Kruppe’s team for the 2025-26 school year.”

Sharp provided the Madison-Park News with a copy of the findings letter by the Allen Law Group on May 12.

The letter described the catalyst for the investigation, including the district’s finances and the finances of the Hazel Park Junior Vikings, as well as hiring practices for administrative roles, superintendent recommendations for administrative staff pay increases, contractual issues with various superintendent contracts and extensions, claims of a hostile work environment, and the lack of a Wellness Committee, which oversees policies including student nutrition and mental health.

The letter said there exists evidence to substantiate at least three of the claims, including the commingling of funds of the Hazel Park Junior Vikings, the superintendent’s contract extension for a term longer than five years — approved by the board in 2023 — and the failure to maintain a Wellness Committee.

“We have concluded that insufficient evidence exists to substantiate the remaining allegations asserted,” the letter read.

‘Time to let it go’

According to Sharp, the board originally gave Kruppe a four-year contract extension, and then a year later amended the contract to add a fifth year.

“All contracts were reviewed and approved by the board,” Sharp said.

“As to the Wellness Committee, this is a requirement of state law, (and) Dr. Kruppe admitted the district had not had a Wellness Committee since COVID because of the priorities that had to be met at that time,” Sharp said.

She added that “the goals and objectives” of the committee “have been met since that time.”

As for the Junior Vikings, Sharp said certain funds may have commingled during the first year of the program in 2022, when it was jointly run by the district and city. Now, the program is managed wholly by the city, as of 2024, with no funds held by the district.

“If these were areas of concern by the board, they could have just asked Dr. Kruppe without the need for an investigation, and she would have explained it to the board as she always has,” Sharp said. “As these are issues from many years ago, a costly investigation was not necessary.”

She noted her client’s performance had been rated as “highly effective” since 2022.

“These concerns were not an issue by the board at the time they may have been present,” Sharp said. “Dr. Kruppe wants nothing more than to move forward in her role, guiding the district at a pivotal time. These continued accusations and claims are preventing her from working with the board. The investigation is complete — it is time to let it go.”

Hinton said the board is still trying to make sense of various discrepancies.

“We’re just trying to make sure we have all the facts,” Hinton said. “We want to ensure these issues don’t occur again in the future.”