Paradise Valley Moves to Oust Superintendent After Misconduct Allegations

The Paradise Valley Unified School District board voted unanimously on Tuesday to adopt a “statement of charges” against its superintendent, Todd Cummings, setting in motion plans to fire him unless he requests a hearing within ten days. The decision comes after only a few months in the job.

Cummings was placed on paid administrative leave on September 30 following a closed-door board meeting that cited unspecified complaints and employment concerns.

In the months since, an independent third-party investigation uncovered 14 distinct allegations against him. These include misrepresenting facts on his job application, insubordination, creating a hostile work environment, failing to properly supervise staff, exhibiting an improper attitude toward subordinates, demonstrating incompetence, and making false statements during the investigation.

A central element of the scrutiny concerns his application to Paradise Valley Unified School District. The board alleges Cummings failed to disclose that he had accepted a $225,000 buyout from his previous employer, which he described on the application as a retirement. According to documents obtained by the board, that omission may constitute a Class 3 misdemeanor under Arizona law.

The board noted that they are not declaring the allegations proven at this time. The vote merely establishes that if the charges are true, they would constitute sufficient cause for dismissal. Cummings may request a hearing, but if he does not do so within the allotted 10 days, his employment will be terminated. District officials stressed that, despite the turmoil, the work of the district will go on under interim leadership.

This dramatic turn of events follows a controversial hiring process earlier this year. Cummings had resigned from his previous post at South Bend Community School Corporation (Indiana), where he had come under investigation for allegedly manipulating student grades to inflate graduation rates. Despite that, PVSchools contracted him in April, and he began his duties on July 1.

Critics of the board’s vetting process say the hiring firm they used failed to properly screen Cummings. Emails to the school board warned that the decision to hire him was “a fatal mistake.”