Minneapolis charter school removes CEO amid teacher sexual abuse allegations, lawsuits
The Brief
Best Academy's CEO and Founder Eric Mahmoud was removed after a vote by the school's board of directors Friday.
A former student filed a civil lawsuit earlier this week against Best Academy in Minneapolis claiming the charter school should have known one of its teachers was a danger to students.
In a recent interview with the FOX 9 Investigators, the former student said she was sexually abused by Abdul Wright, months after he was named Minnesota's Teacher of the Year in 2016.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The founder and leader of Minneapolis charter school Best Academy has been relieved of his duties after multiple lawsuits accused two teachers of sexually abusing students.
What we know
The board of Harvest Best Academy in Minneapolis voted Friday to remove its founder and CEO Eric Mahmoud.
The decision comes a day after a second lawsuit was filed against the school over allegations of sexual abuse by two former teachers.
What they're saying
Molly Burke, an attorney who represents the former students said, "the voices of survivors and their families have been heard."
The other side
Harvest Best Academy board chair Ezra Hyland said the decision to remove Mahmoud was "a difficult decision" but necessary.
"We recognize Eric's important contributions to the school from helping start the organization to building systems that have consistently helped our students achieve high test scores," Hyland said in a statement.
"The board believes it is time for new leadership to continue to support the Harvest Best Academy's important role in our community."
The backstory
On Thursday, a former student filed a civil lawsuit against Best Academy and her former teacher, Abdul Wright, after she accused him of sexually abusing her for nearly a year.
Wright has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges after police say he sexually abused his former student, who was 14 years old at the time. The alleged abuse took place months after Wright was named 2016 Minnesota Teacher of the Year, including inside the school, inside Wright's car, and outside of school.
"I think that his status and him being Teacher of the Year really was a reason that a lot of people turned a blind eye," the student said in a recent interview.
The FOX 9 Investigators agreed to refer to the former student as "Jane Doe" in order to protect her identity, since she was a minor at the time and is named in court records as a victim of sexual abuse.
The student's father told the FOX 9 Investigators earlier this year that he reported his concerns directly to Eric Mahmoud in 2017, but those concerns were "dismissed completely." "This report was the kind of thing that would require immediate mandatory reporting by Eric Mahmood as the founder and the head of the school and as an educator and, of course, to law enforcement," Anderson told the FOX 9 Investigators.
Wright's personnel file shows no record he was ever disciplined by the school for the accusations. Jane Doe said the abuse continued and Wright went on to teach at Best Academy for years.
Dig deeper
Best Academy faces a separate lawsuit that claims the school violated its own hiring process in 2016 when it offered Aaron Hjermstad a job, who was later convicted of sexual abuse.
Hjermstad was indicted last year on additional counts of criminal sexual conduct.
What's next
The school board will vote on an interim director on Tuesday March 25.
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