East Lansing superintendent speaks out following principal’s resignation

EAST LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - Former East Lansing High School principal, Shannon Mayfield, abruptly resigned from his post Monday while the district was conducting an investigation into his educational background.

Background: East Lansing principal resigns amid investigation into fake doctorate degree

Mayfield is accused of lying about receiving a doctoral degree from Wayne State University. This came to light after the school district launched an investigation into his background, leading to Mayfield’s resignation.

Superintendent Dori Leyko stated that the district had never encountered a situation like this before, where someone had lied about their educational qualifications. The district offers a $4,000 stipend for administrators with doctoral degrees, which Mayfield claimed to have received from Wayne State University. However, the university revealed that the transcript Mayfield provided was fraudulent, and he was not even enrolled at the university.

The district attempted to hear Mayfield’s side of the story but was unsuccessful.

“It’s the fact our work is teaching kids both academics and character,” Leyko said. “ So we hold ourselves in these fields to really high standards.”

Leyko stated that the district does have a vetting process for all candidates, but it is not common to verify degrees that individuals are still working towards. Mayfield had met the requirements to be a principal, and his educational background had not been questioned until the recent investigation.

Ashley Schwarzbek, the associate principal, has taken over as interim principal, and the district aims to have a permanent leadership team in place for the next school year.

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