Oxford school counselor who met with killer given paid leave, reprimanded for behavior

An Oxford high school counselor who met with a student hours before that student carried out a mass shooting in 2021 has reached a deal with the school district to resign and take eight months of paid leave, according to newly released records by district.

Shawn Hopkins and Oxford Community Schools entered into a separation agreement on Dec. 8, 2023, which allowed Hopkins to resign but remain on fully paid leave with insurance coverage until Aug. 15, 2024, according to documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. tipped off by a community member and provided to The Detroit News this month.

The agreement was signed in 2023 by then-Superintendent Vickie Markavitch and union president James Gibbons, but was not approved by the board of education until July 2024, school officials said. It was unclear why the board approved it eight months after it was signed.

The reasons for the paid leave have not been officially specified.

The discipline was not previously made public. The district has declined to comment on all personnel matters involving Hopkins and other school members, despite pleas from some community members for the district to be more transparent about decisions involving staff who were involved with the shooter on the day of the attack and in the months since. preceding her.

According to additional documents obtained through public records requests, Hopkins was cited for unprofessional conduct in June 2022 related to the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting that killed four students at the sprawling Oakland County high school and six others and a teacher. they were injured.

It was also unclear whether that citation played a role in the paid leave contract.

Hopkins could not be reached for comment. Attorney Tim Mullins, who represented Hopkins in the civil suit against the district, did not respond to a request for comment.

Hopkins, who has been civilly sued by several Oxford families whose children were either killed or injured, was reprimanded by the district on June 14, 2022 — less than seven months after the attack — after writing “Counselor #1” on his back. table name tag during a youth mental health first aid course in April 2022.

Prior to this training, Hopkins was referred to in some court documents as “Counselor #1.” The district had a meeting with Hopkins to discuss the incident, and he admitted to writing the reference on the back of the license plate, according to a June 14, 2022, letter about the incident.

“By referring to you in this manner, it gave the impression to other staff members who were present that you were making fun of the tragic incident that occurred on November 30, 2021,” wrote David Pass, the district’s assistant director of human resources. letter to Hopkins.

“Based on our conversation you indicated that was not your intention, however, that is not how these actions were perceived,” Pass wrote. “Given the significant loss of life and emotional trauma this tragedy has caused students, families and members of our community, your actions were unprofessional.”

District spokeswoman Christine Smith said earlier this month that Superintendent Tonya Milligan and School Board President Erin Reis would not comment on Hopkins’ paid leave agreement because it is a personnel matter. Hopkins’ resignation was approved by the board on July 9, 2024, Smith said.

Parents react to the revelations

Four students were killed in the attack: Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre, Hana St. Juliana and Justin Shilling.

Convicted killer Ethan Crumbley was reprimanded on November 29, 2021 for looking for bullets in the classroom and was called to a meeting with Hopkins and Dean of Students Nicholas Ejak on the day of the attack.

Ejak and Hopkins testified during the criminal trial of Ethan’s parents, Jennifer and James, that they didn’t see Ethan Crumbley as a threat, but more like a student with mental health issues. Neither of them searched the teenager’s backpack. They didn’t even insist that his parents take him home when his parents said he had to work.

Steve St. Juliana, Hana’s father, told The News on Tuesday that the district’s decision not to disclose Hopkins’ discipline and the incident for which he was reprimanded are part of a continued lack of accountability by school officials for what happened.

“I think in this particular case, the school district should have commented that they took action,” St. Juliana. “The fact that they wouldn’t even admit any wrongdoing was done by anyone, that’s the common theme here. They cover everything, you see.”

The fact that Hopkins wrote “advisor no. 1″ on a license plate is “amazing,” St. Juliana.

Buck Myre, Tate’s father, said the incident amounted to a mockery of the four children’s deaths.

Hopkins and Ejak were placed on non-disciplinary paid administrative leave a week after the 2021 attack starting Dec. 7, 2021, as a standard move because they both met with Ethan and his parents and evaluated him before the attack, according to an email from the district.

“Given the seriousness of the situation, the threats to personal and well-being, and the ongoing internal and external investigation, you are being placed on non-disciplinary leave of absence effective immediately. You will be notified when the investigation is complete,” Pass wrote in a 2022 email previously obtained by The News.

Both men were later reinstated. It was unclear what position Hopkins returned to, but he was listed as an international student counselor on the district’s website. Ejak moved to a job as a student support specialist at Oxford Crossroads Day School for the 2022-23 school year and is no longer employed by the district today.

What the report said about the counselor

No one in the district has been fired in connection with the attack.

Guidepost, the independent consulting firm hired by the district to review its response to the attack, found that Hopkins, Ejak, former Superintendent Tim Throne, Assistant Superintendent Jill LeMond, Assistant Superintendent Denise Sweat, Oxford High Principal Steve Wolf and the Oxford School Board they had the the biggest blame for failing to be proactive in handling the shooter before mass shootings took place.

Specifically, the Guidepost report found that Hopkins, the school counselor who interacted with the shooter three times on the day and before the shooting, failed to take appropriate action with the shooter that could have averted the tragedy.

While Hopkins did not receive adequate threat assessment training, there were “sufficient warning signs” that should have prompted him to alert the principal about the shooter’s behavior, according to the report. He also failed to follow the district’s protocol on suicidal ideation, despite fears that the shooter might harm himself.

Guidepost identified three key encounters between school staff and the shooter on November 29 and 30, 2021, before he began his deadly rampage. Hopkins was present at all three meetings and had met with the shooter several times prior to those dates to discuss routine issues and concerns his teachers had raised.

Danielle Krozek, an Oxford parent who received the documents from another parent who obtained them through the Freedom of Information Act, said it was no secret that Hopkins was on leave. She asked why he was paid during it. Several community members asked the district to explain why Hopkins was on leave.

“The problem is that the district felt it necessary to pay him severance in exchange for his resignation and chose to hide/deny it,” Krozek said. “It was not a fiscally responsible decision considering the district’s financial situation and the needs of staff and students. How many other compensation packages were awarded and why was it justified?”

Civil lawsuits against Hopkins and other members of the schools and Oxford schools allege they were negligent in failing to prevent what attorneys for the families say was a predictable act by the then-15-year-old shooter.

last month, The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that Oxford schools and its employees have government immunity in two lawsuits related to the shooting. Attorneys for the families said they plan to appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court.

Oakland County Attorney’s Office declined to press charges against any school employees in the attack, saying his officials did not find enough evidence to support criminal charges against any school district employees.

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