by P.D. Lesko

Correction: YCS School Board member Dr. Celeste Hawkins was inadvertently identified as the YCS spokesman who contacted The Ann Arbor Independent on March 14 by phone and spoke on the record. The article has been updated, and The Ann Arbor Independent apologizes.

Update: The story has been updated to include contents of a YCS Mar. 21, 2023 statement about this incident.

Dr. Alena Zachery-Ross is the Superintendent of the Ypsilanti Community Schools. She previously worked in Van Dyke Public Schools in Warren, MI. There, she served as an Assistant Superintendent for curriculum and instruction, an Elementary and Middle School Principal, a School Psychologist and Teacher Consultant. Dr. Zachery-Ross has also worked as an Elementary School Teacher and School Psychologist for the Detroit Public Schools district.

When sent the photos (right) showing members of a County contractor called Supreme Felons, Inc. standing in front of Ypsilanti Community Middle School, and evidence of the group’s vice president claiming that Supreme Felons, Inc. was “called upon” to be there “by our community,” Zachery-Ross contacted The Ann Arbor Independent. She was clear: “They did not have our permission to come onto our school grounds. We didn’t know they were there. We don’t know what they said to our kids. The District has no contract with this group. The District has received no proposals from this group to provide any services to our students.”

The photos, right, and claims that the group’s members were “called upon” to show up at the public middle school without having been invited and without having had background checks as per YCS policy, were posted on the Facebook page of Supreme Felons, Inc. vice president Bryan Foley. [Foley has since scrubbed the photos/post from his social media account.]

In a March 21, 2023 YCS statement, Zachery-Ross reiterated her comments to the A2Indy made in a 50 minute phone interview on Mar. 14.:

• The School District does not have a relationship, contractual or otherwise, with an organization known as Supreme Felons Inc.
• The Supreme Felons Inc. has not entered District buildings to “mentor” students.

Zachery-Ross’s Mar. 21 public statement did not include the photos of the Supreme Felons, Inc. member-felons positioned near the entrance to Ypsilanti Community Middle School.

The Mar. 21 YCS statement also contained assertions which ignored the photographic evidence of unsupervised felons on school property with “BOOTS ON THE GROUND”:

• The School District does not permit any individual to volunteer services without first undergoing a background check.
• The School District does not allow any community organization or member unrestricted access to its facilities.
• The organization [Supreme Felons, Inc.] has not established a presence outside any of the District’s schools.

Supreme Felons, Inc. was co-founded by a murderer on parole named Billy Cole and Alan Fuqua. Fuqua is a registered sex offender who was, at the time of his signed state non-profit incorporation filing, still in prison serving a 35-year sentence for multiple counts of criminal sexual conduct with a child under 13.

Dr. Zachery-Ross said that her BOE also recently formed a subcommittee to craft a security policy to deal with pedophiles and registered sex offenders among parents who may come into YCS buildings or onto school property.

Zachery-Ross added: “I was told Alan Fuqua is no longer involved.”

When asked whether Fuqua is the only sex offender (registered or otherwise) who is a member of Supreme Felons, Inc., Zachery-Ross paused for several seconds and then said she did not know. Zachery-Ross also said that the members of Supreme Felons with whom she’s spoken seemed to be “nice people.”

According to Zachery-Ross’s Mar. 21 public statement, the presence of the Supreme Felons, Inc. members on school grounds was a security breach. Zachery-Ross said, “School security, including security on school grounds, is an issue the Board of Education is working on. We’re having a hard time managing security outside of our buildings, but we’re working on that problem.”

In her Mar. 21 statement, Zachery-Ross walked back that Mar. 14 comment: “The School District has comprehensive security policies and practices in place, and does not have systemic security deficits.”

In a fraudulent grant application submitted in April 2022 by Supreme Felons Inc. president, Billy Cole, to the County in pursuit of $1.2 million in federal ARPA funding (that was awarded in July 2022 and partially dispersed in Jan, 2023), the non-profit’s president falsely claimed that members of Supreme Felons, Inc. had worked with children in both the Ypsilanti and Washtenaw Intermediate School District schools.

In Oct. 2022 email statements, the Superintendents of both of those districts said members of Cole’s group had never worked in their schools. Cole’s grant application went on to state that with the $1.2 million grant, Supreme Felons would “push into” more county school districts and help administrators with discipline. That is exactly what happened at Ypsilanti Community Middle School.

In her Mar. 21 statement, Dr. Zachery-Ross reiterated her Oct. 2022 comment: “The School District does not have a relationship, contractual or otherwise, with an organization known as Supreme Felons Inc.”

County Administrator Greg Dill was asked about the conduct of Supreme Felons, Inc., a Washtenaw County contractor. Specifically Dill was asked why the contractor had violated school policies, including safety protocols. Dill did not reply. The Chair of the County Commissioners, Justin Hodge, likewise did not reply to the emailed question. Justin Hodge has been quoted as saying, “Supreme Felons saves lives.”

While expressing concern that members of Supreme Felons, Inc. had violated YCS safety policies and protocols, Zachery-Ross also expressed what can only be described as fear of the members of the group. “They are not to be messed with, not a group to go after,” said Zachery-Ross. “They said they work for the Sheriff and Debbie Dingell.”

In her Mar. 21 statement, Zachery-Ross walked this statement back, as well: “The School District has not been threatened or intimidated by members of the Supreme Felons Inc.” The Superintendent added, without sharing the photos of felons outside her middle school along with her statement, “Similarly, that organization [Supreme Felons, Inc.] has not established a presence outside any of the District’s schools.”

Zachery-Ross expressed shock and dismay when informed that the non-profit Supreme Felons, Inc. does not have any contractual relationship with the County Sheriff, does not represent the Sheriff or any county policing entity, and the group does not work for U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell.

Sheriff’s deputies who spoke on the condition they not be identified, are angry and concerned. One deputy said: “The Sheriff is supporting crime intervention done by wife beaters, murderers, robbers and sexual predators, instead of sworn officers who are experienced and trained. How is having a murderer who gunned down his victim respond to an incident involving violence in the best interests of the community? Is it supposed to be a teachable moment? ‘Look at me. I’m a role model in an orange sweatshirt.’ It’s not public safety, it’s a political show.”

According to the contract signed the County Administrator and the President of Supreme Felons, Inc., the Supreme Felons, Inc. budget includes around $1,227 to do background checks on members. In comparison, the group’s budget also allocates $10,600 for 100 burner phones. The Ann Arbor Independent submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the County for copies of the background checks done thus far by the group, a County contractor.

Dr. Zachery-Ross spoke a length about the importance of keeping YCS students safe. When asked how unidentified felons with no supervision by YCS staff “mentor” students, Zachery-Ross replied that a year ago she’d been told by the Sheriff’s Dept. Dir. of Community Engagement, Derrick Jackson, that members of the non-profit all “had training.”

In her Mar. 21 statement, the Superintendent didn’t mention the “training,” but instead told parents, “The Supreme Felons Inc. has not entered District buildings to ‘mentor’ students.” It was a careful parsing of language that hid the truth of what had happened at Ypsilanti Community Middle School.

Public records show Jackson’s assertion to Dr. Zachery-Ross about “training” was false.

The Sheriff’s Dept., in response to a FOIA seeking evidence Supreme Felons, Inc. members did work in the community, as claimed in the group’s grant application, and received training, was answered with contact notes from the Sheriff’s LEADD program, a program to combat recidivism. LEADD is staffed by Sheriff’s Dept. workers and part-time outreach workers, including Billy Cole, President of Supreme Felons, Inc.

The Supreme Felons, Inc. budget includes $18,000 to spend over the next three years on “Professional Community Violence Prevention Specialist training.”

According to Zachery-Ross, the principal of Ypsilanti Community Middle School, Turquoise Neal, did not know uninvited members of Supreme Felons, Inc. were planning to stand in front of her school, where students were forced to run a gauntlet of unknown felons prior to leaving for the day.

In her Mar. 21 statement, Zachery-Ross refutes the fact that children leaving school through the main entrance had to go past the members of Supreme Felons, Inc who photos show stationed on the sidewalk near the school’s main entrance. “Students are not required to ‘run gauntlets’ of felons to leave the School District’s facilities,” said Zachery-Ross.

Dr. Zachery-Ross said, “We don’t invite them [Supreme Felons], and we don’t have a contact for them. Supreme Felons is not a part of our community schools.” Zachery-Ross added, “Some of our parents are members of Supreme Felons and they come to school meetings, for example.”

When shown the photo (above) of the members of Supreme Felons, Inc. who showed up at the middle school, Dr. Zachery-Ross said, “I don’t know all of the people in the photo.”

Zachery-Ross went on to say that she’d been briefed about the uninvited felons coming on to school property after the fact.

“A parent had ‘summoned’ Supreme Felons to the school, Zachery-Ross explained, “because of a fight that the parent was concerned would be carried on after the end of the school day. Parents considered it [the fight] a neighborhood issue,” said Zachery-Ross.

Zachery-Ross could not explain why the parent in question did not contract school officials, including the principal.

“We’ve had several police incidents and at this point we’re not adequately managing security outside of our buildings. But this is something the Board is actively working on. We’ve had people from the community coming onto school grounds when the kids are at recess, for example. We’re talking about our kids’ safety here, and that’s a priority.”

Supreme Felons, Inc. members also showed up at a Lincoln High School basketball game to keep people safe, according to a social media post by Derrick Jackson. The felons are pictured encircling the basketball court. There was a Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Deputy at the game, as well a Derrick Jackson.

The Ann Arbor Independent submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for copies of all LCS incident reports at boys’ basketball games between 2021 and 2023.

Unlike YCS Superintendent Dr. Zachery-Ross, Lincoln Consolidated Schools Superintendent Mr. Robert Jansen would not be interviewed by phone.

Jansen was hired on a three-year contract in July of 2020. He was formerly the principal of Bishop Elementary in the LCS District between 2016 and 2020. Jansen holds an Education Specialist Degree from Saginaw Valley State University, a Master of Education in Educational Leadership from the University of Alaska-Anchorage and a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Western Michigan University.

Jansen’s assistant Ty Smith asked for questions to be emailed. Among the questions asked was why Lincoln High School needed “community co-created public safety” services from felons for students to have a safe environment to enjoy a basketball game.

Among the questions Jansen declined to answer was one that asked him who in his District made the decision to allow felons into the high school without alerting the Michigan Dept. of Education.

Jansen’s assistant Ty Smith, in a phone conversation, conveyed two questions from the Superintendent: “How do you know the people in the picture (left) are felons? How do you know the members of Supreme Felons, Inc. are felons?”

The Ann Arbor Independent filed a Freedom of Information Act request to get answers to some of the questions Jansen and LCS BOE President Jennifer Czachorski declined to answer.

Robert Jansen’s questions about the photo and Supreme Felons, Inc. suggest the Superintendent has no idea who Supreme Felons, Inc. sent into the high school during a student sporting event. The President of Supreme Felons, Inc. has gone on the record saying that only people who are felons may belong to the group. Federal law has not designated individuals with a criminal history as a protected class, but non-profits can’t keep out members based on race, sex, religion or disability, or sexual orientation.

Because Supreme Felons, Inc. received all of its funding from the federal government, it can lose its non-profit status if it discriminates. Community members who are felons have described both Billy Cole and Bryan Foley simply inviting them into the group as members—no background checks necessary.

As for the Ypsilanti Community Schools, Dr. Zachery-Ross said, “My passion is education, children and making sure our kids are safe.” Zachery-Ross said she intends to “look more closely” into the presence of Supreme Felons, Inc. members on school property and any interactions with YCS students without the knowledge or permission of parents, District officials and the BOE.