Hamlet optimistic to move forward after state ethics commission findings released
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A two-year investigation into Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Anthony Hamlet concluded Thursday in a 147-page report released by the Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission that found Hamlet was in violation of state ethics laws. The commission has ordered Hamlet to pay about $7,900 and to give up 14 vacation days.
The commission found that Hamlet was in violation of the state’s Ethics Act when he “negligently” received travel reimbursement payments, accepted honoraria payments (a technical violation) and submitted financial interest forms with errors.
In response to an additional allegation, which stemmed from a trip to Cuba taken by Hamlet and five administrators and sponsored by The Flying Classroom, Hamlet denied violating the Ethics Act with the trip and denied knowing the trip was not part of the district’s contract.
“No finding of intentional misconduct or wrongdoing is made in the commission’s order. We are very thankful for that,” said Hamlet’s personal lawyer David Berardinelli.
Berardinelli said the inquiry looked into a variety of aspects in Hamlet’s administration since his 2016 arrival, and there was no intentional misconduct found or admitted to.
“We would not have agreed to any resolution that said Dr. Hamlet affirmatively did something wrong,” Berardinelli said.
Hamlet took an optimistic tone in a Thursday morning conference, saying the completion of the report seemed like a fresh start.
“This two-year inquiry has been a cloud over my head, a heavy burden on my shoulders, even though I know I have done nothing wrong,” Hamlet said. “They found that there was no findings of intent on my part to deceive the families, my staff and the taxpayers of Pittsburgh.”
Hamlet has faced mounting frustrations since June 2020 when a group of 55 Black women called for his resignation. More than 2,600 people signed an online Change.org petition opposing the renewal of Hamlet’s contract last August. Numerous parents asked the district to cut ties with Hamlet in the days ahead of the board’s vote for renewal. Parental upset has grown in recent months following a year of turbulent remote learning and technology challenges, a last-minute delay to the upcoming school year and changes to school start times, which all prompted protest, petitions and letters to school district leadership.
Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Anthony Hamlet at a May 22, 2019 school board meeting. (Photo by Terry Clark/PublicSource)
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