Former ELHS principal says breaking up fight, heart attack led to resignation
EAST LANSING — East Lansing High School's former principal said he resigned because of injuries sustained breaking up a fight after a basketball game in January and a subsequent heart attack in February.
Shannon Mayfield included those comments in a statement to the State Journal one day after documents from school showed Mayfield lied on his resume and fabricated transcripts showing he had earned a doctorate degree from a Michigan university, acts school officials said they discovered just prior to his resignation earlier this month.
Mayfield had been off work for a “non-covid-related health issue” since Jan. 25, school officials have said. He resigned March 10, records show, citing "ongoing health care and recovery as directed" in his letter of resignation.
The district received his resignation letter three days after Superintendent Dori Leyko and Chief Human Resources Officer Rulesha Glover-Payne met with Mayfield on March 7 at his home after determining records documenting the attainment of a doctorate degree from Wayne State University in Detroit were falsified, according to records obtained by the State Journal through a public records request.
Violence at the high school has been the subject of public meetings and the district has agreed to a number of changes, including returning security officers to the school and exploring bringing back a school resource officer.
"What led to my resignation are injuries sustained while breaking up a fight after a basketball game on the school campus and a recent heart attack on Feb 14," Mayfield said in an email. "The claims you are referencing have not been formally addressed. With the health pieces ongoing, there are privacy and disclosure areas that preclude discussion."
Mayfield did not directly address the allegations that he lied on his resume and fabricated transcripts.
A fight after a Jan. 19 basketball game at East Lansing High School proved to be the tipping point for many parents, students, teachers and community members. In the following weeks, hundreds of people would attend school board meetings and a community listening session hosted by East Lansing City Mayor Ron Bacon to share their concerns and propose solutions to curb the violence and instances of misconduct.
The Jan. 19 fight involved two groups comprising eight to 10 students fighting each other after a basketball game. Leyko said two staff members tried breaking up the fight and one of the staff members saw a firearm fall from a student's belongings. The East Lansing Police Department had been investigating the fight and multiple students were suspended while others were considered for long-term suspensions and expulsions.
Another fight was reported in the school the next day on Jan. 20. Two students who were being guided to the office by a school administrator went after a group of students sitting outside the school's media center, according to Leyko. Multiple students were facing suspension and expulsion.
It's unclear when the fight was that Mayfield was breaking up which led to his injuries.
His resignation letter to Leyko, which included his signature, was brief: "I am resigning as principal of East Lansing High School effective March 10, 2023 and focusing on my ongoing health care and recovery as directed. Thank You for the opportunity to lead and I hope progress and future success continues in ELPS. Keys, Swipe Badge, and district Laptop are in the principal's office."
In his application for the principal position, Mayfield stated he had been attending Wayne State since September 2018 and expected to soon complete a doctorate degree. Completion of that degree would have made him eligible for a $4,000 stipend from the district.
In January, Glover-Payne requested an official transcript and letter confirming completion of the program so that she could process the stipend.
Subsequent conversations led to suspicions about the completion of the degree, and when Glover-Payne received what appeared to be Mayfield's Wayne State transcript on Feb. 27, it showed a doctorate of philosophy degree was awarded on Dec. 13, 2022, with a major in organizational leadership, not a doctorate of education in ethical educational leadership as mentioned by Mayfield in an earlier email.
Ultimately, Glover-Payne received an email on March 1 from Wayne State Registrar Kurt Kruschinska, indicating the transcripts Mayfield submitted to the district were not genuine.
Kruschinska wrote that the transcript wasn't legitimate for several reasons, including:
Wayne State transcripts are provided on green security paper or delivered as a green and white PDF
The watermark used on Wayne State transcripts is the university's seal, not a seal that says "Official Document"
The name of Wayne State Registrar Kurt Kruschinska appears on all transcripts. The transcript provided to Glover-Payne bears the name "Charles Bakersfield." Kruschinska said he had "no idea who Charles Bakersfield is or if they even exist."
Wayne State uses a four-digit course numbering system, unlike the three-digit course numbers included in Mayfield's transcript.
Mayfield's transcript references a Spring semester. Wayne State only has a Fall, Winter and Spring/Summer semester.
Additionally, Glover-Payne was told that the envelope that the fake transcript arrived in is not the envelope an official transcript would be sent in, according to the documents. Additionally, the envelope incorrectly includes Wayne State's Zip code as 48126. The envelopes also are not stamped, rather they are metered at the post office.
Contact Mark Johnson at majohnson2@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ByMarkJohnson.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Former East Lansing principal says breaking up fight, heart attack led to resignation
