Complaints mount against Cincinnati Superintendent Iranetta Wright: 'It's all about her'

When Iranetta Wright took over as superintendent of Cincinnati Public Schools two years ago, she talked about her passion for collaboration and teamwork. That, she said, was how the district would improve outcomes for kids.

"This is a community's work," she said in her inaugural speech.

But the district's unions, employees and other community leaders say Wright has instead made herself the face of the district and bullied anyone who went against her, sparking widespread distrust and ultimately hurting teachers, staff and students.

"It's all about her," said Fannie Carradine, an administrative secretary in the district's central office and president of the Cincinnati Federation of Office Professionals.

The district’s unions are rallying against Wright, meeting for votes of no confidence and claiming Wright’s leadership style is controlling and inefficient. The state has received complaints regarding Wright's leadership and her use of vacation days and district funds.

'Our district is in chaos.' Cincinnati Public Schools unions to take vote of no confidence

An employee said Tuesday the district is threatening to fire her in retaliation for speaking out against the superintendent and her inner circle. Another said she quit due to bullying and harassment at work. Kareem Moffett, a board member, told The Enquirer she senses "an increase in frustration and a mass exodus" coming.

“We have a culture of fear,” Moffett said.

The Enquirer requested an interview with Wright more than two weeks before publishing this story to give her an opportunity to respond to claims from current and former employees. The Enquirer emailed Wright at least three more times for comment, but she said an email she sent to her staff on Monday in response to the union votes would serve as her statement.

Wright declined an interview and added: “I deeply care about the work and input of all of our employees, who are essential to helping improve outcomes for all students. We have worked hard to build a culture of accountability, recognition and celebration.”

Board member praises superintendent, evaluation satisfactory

Ben Lindy, who was board president when Wright was hired, said he thinks Wright is "the most talented superintendent we've had in a long time."

Lindy is still on the board. He sees improvements in the district's test scores, transportation efforts and chronic absenteeism as most important, and said employees complained before Wright came to Cincinnati, too. He takes issue with anonymous complaints about Wright.

"I don't think you can lead a $650 million organization based on emails that people won't put their name on," Lindy said.

The board rated Wright's performance as satisfactory on her most recent evaluation. She scored lowest in the category for communication and collaboration, but the board said she shines in establishing a vision and leading the district toward improved student outcomes.

In early May, Ohio's Office of Professional Conduct sent an email to the school board, which was viewed by The Enquirer, alerting board members of a referral, or complaint made about Wright, that states Wright has taken time off without charging vacation days and allowed others she's brought to the district to do the same.

Wright uses "criminal tactics to intimidate, harass and bully staff," the complaint alleges, uses programs to hide her emails, uses district dollars to host "large, elaborate gatherings/meals for friends and favorite colleagues" and manipulates data to make it look like the district's kids are performing better than they actually are. In its email, the office stated it was "reaching out to gather information before making any decision on the matter."

The school board will next evaluate Wright in December. The board has not discussed terminating her contract before then, Board President Eve Bolton said. But Bolton is aware of employees' opposition to the superintendent and the unions' upcoming votes.

"The district is an inclusive and productive environment when it's working well," Bolton said.

But the district's current budget issues indicate there are processes and decisions that should be scrutinized, she said.

More: Southwest Ohio schools got $745 million in pandemic relief funds. Did they spend it all?

Employee resigns over harassment, retaliation

Janine De Iorio, Cincinnati Public Schools' former communications crisis manager, sent her resignation letter to district administrators March 4. Two weeks later, she took a deep breath before addressing Cincinnati's school board during public comment.

De Iorio told the board she was bullied, harassed and, after she reported a physical assault, retaliated against.

“I am extremely concerned for the well-being of my colleagues,” De Iorio said. Her voice shook. “This leadership perpetuates a culture based in fear, intimidation, gaslighting and propaganda.”

When she was done, De Iorio went back to her seat in the audience and cried. No one on the board responded.

De Iorio told The Enquirer she suffered months of bullying from another coworker in 2023, saying the employee made snide comments toward her and would "shoulder check" her in the halls.

“I was tired of being physically touched when I didn’t want to be touched,” De Iorio said. She reported the assault under harassment to the district's legal counsel.

De Iorio also told her boss, Lisa Lee, about the shoulder-checking. Both women worked under Mark Sherwood, chief communications and marketing officer for the district. In her resignation letter, De Iorio told Sherwood that since he came to the district, she’s seen behavior from him and his peers that made her feel “uncomfortable, unsafe and unwelcome” at work.

Wright and Sherwood have been a team for years. They worked together at a public school district in Florida until 2017. When Wright took a job at Detroit Public Schools that year, Sherwood followed. And a month after Wright began in her role as superintendent of Cincinnati Public Schools in 2022, Sherwood was hired to lead the district's communications and marketing department. Lee said Sherwood acts as a “yes man” for Wright.

When Lee brought De Iorio's harassment concern to Sherwood, Lee said he didn’t want to report it at first. Eventually Sherwood told her “he would take care of it,” she said. Lee reported it anyway.

Sherwood told The Enquirer he followed proper protocols and reported the harassment allegation immediately to both human resources and general counsel. He said he has never restricted staff members' right to report incidents.

"I strongly disagree with Ms. De Iorio's comments shared during the board meeting. Ms. De Iorio resigned her employment on her own accord," Sherwood said.

After the harassment complaints were filed, both women said, Sherwood started to reassign their job duties to other employees and undermined them in team meetings. De Iorio, who was supposed to craft the district's messages to the community about various crises, said she was finding out about emergency school situations in the news.

Lee was reprimanded for unprofessional behavior, including yelling angrily in the workplace and interrupting colleagues during meetings, according to her personnel file. She was issued a warning after a disciplinary conference held in February.

De Iorio said she sought therapy to deal with the anxiety the job created. Lee said she’s suffered panic attacks and has a cardiologist now to address her work-related stress symptoms.

De Iorio and Lee filed union complaints against Sherwood. De Iorio quit before her complaint went to Wright for approval, but Wright reviewed and dismissed Lee's complaint. Lee also filed charges against the district with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, which remain open.

Less than three weeks after Lee spoke with The Enquirer, and two days before the story was published, she said she was called into a meeting with the district's legal counsel and human resources − without her union representative or lawyer, both of whom she's entitled to have present − and told she would be fired if she did not withdraw her complaints. Lee did not sign the separation agreement, and the district deactivated her work email and revoked her work devices.

'I guess she wants the spotlight'

De Iorio's complaints mirror concerns outlined in a letter sent to the school board last April from union leaders representing over 200 district administrators, principals and assistant principals. They said Wright established a “culture of intimidation and fear,” that she “embarrasses employees in meetings” and micromanages to a fault. Wright said at the time that her leadership style may be different from former district leaders, but she's committed to making adjustments that ultimately align with the board's goals and best serve children.

De Iorio said she believed in Wright at first. But not anymore. She said that if adults in the district don’t feel supported, “children aren’t going to get the best that you can give.”

Carradine, who works in the district's central office, said she's received concerning calls from her union members the last several years. Most upsetting to her were consistent complaints that clerical staff at schools were asked to distribute medicine to kids − not just bandages or aspirin, Carradine said, but giving shots to diabetic children and counting carbs.

"We're not nurses," Carradine said. But when she protested, she said Wright shot back that the district needs "all hands on deck."

Carradine has worked with the district for 26 years. She graduated from Cincinnati Public Schools, as have her children.

"I truly love CPS. It's the heart of everything that I do. And I know that we have good teachers, administrators and people in here every day that are working really hard to make our students successful," Carradine said.

Even so, she said, she knows of several employees that have left meetings with Wright in tears. Meanwhile, most of what Carradine sees of the superintendent is in the selfies Wright posts with students on social media.

"I guess she wants the spotlight," Carradine said.

That spotlight, other union leaders say, distracts from concerning decisions Wright and her team are making. Michelle Dunn, an organizer with the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers, spoke at a recent school board meeting about millions of dollars the administration has spent on contracts with out-of-state vendors for tasks that could be easily done locally or in-house.

"We've had an unprecedented year of unproductive disruption and frustration from this superintendent and her team," Dunn said. "Our thousands of members who have had to work through all the dysfunction and delay share it has never been this bad. And trust me, there would be hundreds testifying just that if it were not for concerns of retaliation."

In response to the impending union votes of no confidence, Wright sent a mass email to all staff on Monday. She encouraged her staff to "consider the progress we have made in a short time" and wrote, "I have 100% confidence in each of you."

Julie Sellers, president of the teachers union, said the email was "inappropriate, unprofessional and was sent to intimidate employees."

The unions are expected to place their votes of no confidence by mid-May.

De Iorio has started a new job elsewhere in the city. But when she came to Cincinnati, she had hoped to spend the rest of her career working for Cincinnati Public Schools.

"I left the position, I didn't leave CPS," De Iorio said. "My heart is still with the kids."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Complaints mount against CPS Superintendent Iranetta Wright