AG Nessel Response to Oxford School Board

AG Nessel Response to Oxford School Board

LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel issued the following statement in response to the Oxford Community School District Board of Education declining her renewed offer to perform an independent investigation of the events that transpired on November 30, 2021:

“I am deeply disappointed by the school board’s repeated rejection of my offers to perform an independent and thorough review of the systems and procedures in the days leading up to and on November 30, 2021.  My goal is not to assign blame but to help identify ways to improve school safety for Oxford and all schools in Michigan.  The school board’s unwillingness to partner with my department on this effort flies in the face of transparency.  The rejection sends a message that the board is more focused on limiting liability than responding to the loud outcry from the Oxford community to deliver greater peace of mind to the students, parents and educators that lived through this traumatic event.

“My department can only perform an exhaustive and thorough review when we have the full cooperation of the school board and district.  Absent that partnership, I am restricted to the publicly available information we have all read and reviewed.  Despite this outcome, I will return to Oxford in the coming weeks and continue my work to be a resource to the community.  This latest setback does not deter my efforts to share best practices across our state in order to help all schools improve the safety and security of their learning environments.”

Last month, Nessel sent a letter to the Board following a community conversation last with families from Oxford.