A report from a law firm hired by Des Moines Public Schools to investigate the hiring process for former Superintendent Ian Roberts found that the search firm provided the board with an inaccurate resume and a potentially forged transcript among other shortcomings. The same report stated the board's search process that led to Roberts being hired was "methodical, data-informed and rigorous" throughout.
In a statement, the school board said they asked an investigator to review how the board selected a search firm and look into what school board members knew of Roberts' educational, criminal and immigration issues and before and after he was hired.
In October, DMPS announced they were filing a lawsuit against the search firm they used to hire Roberts, JG Consulting, for breach of contract and negligence.
Roberts, who is a native of Guyana, was hired in 2023 after a nationwide search. He was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Sept. 26 of this year after being issued a removal order in 2024. Since then, he's been charged with possessing guns without legal status.
Discrepancies in Roberts' resume, potential forged transcript
The report, conducted by the law firm Dickinson, Bradshaw, Fowler & Hagen, stated that the search firm gave the DMPS school board inaccurate versions of Roberts' resume "multiple times" before and after he was hired. The report also said the firm "likely" gave the board a forged transcript of Roberts from Morgan State University without notifying them of any discrepancies.
The incorrect versions listed Roberts as having received a doctorate from Morgan State University. The correct version noted "abd" or "all but dissertation" next to the degree.
The report called board members not catching "abd" on the correct resume "not surprising" due to the high volume of documents they reviewed and the fact board members likely didn't know the meanings of the letters.
Roberts' background check was conducted by the firm Baker Eubanks, which was contracted by JG Consulting. The report stated that the background check "noted variances" between information given by Roberts and information from Morgan State University, but presented the information in a way "favorable" to Roberts.
The check examined records from the prior seven years, which the report stated board members were not informed of at the time.
The background check didn't identify any immigration issues.
Search firm had E-Verify, unclear if used
The report stated that JG Consulting also claimed to be registered with E-Verify, an online system that lets employers verify their employees' eligibility to work in the country. The investigators said they didn’t receive any documents that showed the consulting firm used the program for Roberts.
The report acknowledged that even if E-Verify was used, it can result in errors and may not have identified an issue with Roberts' work authorization. The investigator also stated that even if the board had done a background check on Roberts while he was employed by DMPS, his immigration issues might not have come up since they weren't tied to a criminal charge until after his arrest.
DMPS only aware of one gun citation, state laws may have limited parts of background check
The background check also didn't identify any criminal charges or convictions named in a Oct. 3 press release from the Department of Homeland Security, besides a Pennsylvania gun citation that the firm described as a "blemish" to the school board.
A press release from DHS said Roberts has a narcotics charge from 1996, along with charges for unauthorized use of a vehicle in 1998, a reckless driving conviction in 2012 and weapons charges in 2020.
The report said that while state laws can place limits on what type of background information is reported, a federal law called the Fair Credit Reporting Act allows the disclosure of criminal convictions and "adverse information" like arrest records beyond the seven-year period for positions that pay more than $75,000.
Roberts' contract signed in 2023 was for $270,000 a year.
According to the report, state laws in New York, where Roberts had narcotics charges and charges for unauthorized use of a vehicle, may have prevented the third-party agency from reporting the charges on the background check since there was no conviction. However, the search firm did not notify board members of "limitations state laws can impose on background checks."
State laws would not have prevented the agency from reporting Roberts' 2012 reckless driving, unsafe operation and speeding conviction, according to the report.
The investigator found "no irregularities" in the process the school board used to select a search firm. The report also stated there were "no red flags" about JG Consulting's professional integrity or prior work.
JG Consulting claims the report deflects the district's responsibilities
In response to the release of the report, Josh Romero, an attorney for JG Consulting, said the report "mispresents the facts" and tries to deflect accountability for the district for hiring Roberts.
He also said DMPS had the "sole legal duty" to verify Roberts' immigration status and "clearly failed to do so." Romero said JG Consulting was not interviewed for the report and said the district hired Roberts with "full knowledge" of his criminal weapons charge.
"While the district is busy paying its lawyers to issue one-sided, flawed reports for publicity, we are preparing our case to present to the jury, where the true facts about the school board's failures will come to light," Romero said.
Report involves interviews, review of documents and recordings
The investigator interviewed six of the seven school board members who served when Roberts was selected as superintendent in 2023. The seventh member, and chair of the board at the time, Teree Caldwell Johnson died in 2024.
The investigator also interviewed DMPS Communications Director Phil Roeder and Jimmy Waters from 3rd Degree Screening, a background check company in Council Bluffs. The report said they also reviewed hundreds of documents and listened to several hours of closed session audio recordings related to the search.
