Aurelia, Iowa (RI) — A retired school superintendent who’s a state senator says lawmakers must find out how the man who’s facing deportation and federal gun charges was ever hired as superintendent of Des Moines public schools. Senator Lynn Evans, who represents O’Brien, Osceola, Buena Vista, and parts of Clay and Cherokee counties, is chairman of the Senate Education Committee.
Ian Roberts — hired in July of 2023 to be superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools — was on his way to work 13 days ago when he was arrested by immigration agents.
Applicants for a professional administrator license from the State of Iowa must submit fingerprints, college transcripts and other documents — and the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners initiates a background check.
State officials and the president of the Des Moines School Board say Roberts claimed to be a U.S. citizen when he filled out paperwork before he started the job. Evans is reviewing the regulations the state Board of Education Examiners follows to issue administrator licenses and may sponsor a bill that requires the agency to check if applicants are authorized to work in the U.S. by using the federal government’s E-verify system.
Evans says it’s important to ensure any investigation legislators do on this case doesn’t impede the criminal prosecution of Roberts or lawsuits being filed against the private firms that recommended Roberts be hired by school districts in Des Moines and, before that, in Pennsylvania.
The State of Iowa uses a firm called “Fieldprint” to collect fingerprints from people seeking state licenses to teach or serve as administrators in Iowa schools. According to the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners’ website, using the company decreases processing times, and results for the majority of background checks are received in a week or less.
KIWA Staff Photo
