MEMPHIS, TN – (abc24.com) There’s more information about a top Memphis school administrator who is off the job during an investigation of his comments.. Dr. Irving Hamer has been suspended after a sexual harassment complaint from another MCS employee. MCS administrators aren’t saying much about the situation, but school board members want to know what's going on.
"He (Hamer) has a reputation for being very caustic, very almost unbelievably straight forward,” said Memphis City School Board Commissioner Dr. Kenneth Whalum Jr.
Hamer is the number two man in charge of Memphis City Schools. Hamer's words landed him in trouble after an MCS employee accused him of making inappropriate comments. A spokesperson for Superintendent Kriner Cash declined to comment, but the superintendent did email board members about what happened. Whalum found that strange.
"It's interesting because Dr. Cash doesn't usually and he shouldn't tell us about personnel moves, it's not our business as commissioners,” Whalum told abc24 news. “It's just very curious."
In the email, Dr. Cash said the incident happened outside of work. Because of Hamer’s position, Cash said he felt the need to tell his board members.
MCS attorney Dorsey Hopson said in a statement, "MCS does not tolerate sexual harassment by any of its employees. All complaints including this one are handled in a manner consistent with the law and board policy."
Whalum believes there could be a deeper issue.
"I do know that if it warranted outside council for an investigation there must be some kind of connection or one would think that there is some kind of connection to at work,” Whalum said. “It's really unfortunate that we have to deal with stuff like this in the middle of all of this chaos with the merger."
According to MCS, Hamer is on administrative leave with pay pending the investigation.
