KDSN RADIO News
After superintendent’s arrest, Iowa district may use E-verify
Des Moines School officials are considering enrolling in the federal “E-Verify” system to check whether district employees are authorized to work in the United States. The potential move comes after the immigration arrest of former Des Moines superintendent Ian Roberts, who’s in a Polk County jail facing federal gun charges and a deportation order.
Senator Chuck Grassley got confirmation yesterday from the Department of Homeland Security that the district had not used the E-Verify system before it hired Roberts. Grassley said that’s deeply troubling.
The Des Moines School Board voted last week to sue the firm that recommended Roberts and was paid to review his academic credentials, comb through criminal records, and verify Roberts was eligible to be hired. The Pennsylvania school district Roberts left to become superintendent of Des Moines schools is exploring a lawsuit against the consulting firm it hired to do the same thing.
Gary Winschel, president of the school board in an Erie, Pennsylvania, suburb where Roberts worked for nearly three years, said during a board meeting last night that the district may sue Roberts as well.
“It is our hope that these steps will ensure that those who intentionally misled the district or were complacent with the omission of the facts are held accountable,” he said. “…This situation is not an isolated incident confined to the Millcreek Township School District. Ian Roberts betrayed the trust of so many organizations, and although his tenure here has concluded, the effects are still felt.”
The district has also asked U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania to open an investigation centered around the driver's license and Social Security card Roberts provided to verify he was eligible to work and be paid by the district. Des Moines school district officials have said Roberts indicated he was a citizen and provided the same documents when filling out his I-9 — the form used since 1986 to verify individuals are eligible for work in the United States.
