The Michigan Treasury Department is not pleased with the Benton Harbor School Board after the board on Thursday acted to place Superintendent Doctor Leonard Seawood on administrative leave and appoint district turnaround specialist Claude Tiller as the acting superintendent. In a message obtained by The Herald Palladium, a treasury official tells school board President Sharon James that the board does not have the authority to appoint anyone to fill the superintendent post while, as far as the state is concerned, Seawood still occupies it. The school district is currently operating under a consent agreement with the state, and must get the treasury department’s authorization for many of its actions. Treasury regards the board’s actions this past week as null and void. The letter to James also states that the board’s actions have put it in danger of being subjected to measures outlined in Michigan’s emergency manager law. The Benton Harbor Board of Education has yet to comment on the matter, or specify why Seawood was put on leave in the first place.
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