Two agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) showed up on March 30 to have a conversation with Oxford Schools Superintendent Dr. William Skilling.
According to Skilling, the agents were responding to a call they received from Oxford resident Kallie Roesner-Meyers asking them to look into Oxford Schools? visas as they relate to foreign exchange students and claiming that Skilling had a ‘conflict of interest? as he was paid as a consultant for Weiming Education Group (WEG) prior to their partnership with Oxford Schools.
?(It’s) the same things she’s been pushing since last fall (as it relates to) Weiming,? he added. ‘I just reviewed with them what process we went through with my consulting agreement and how we severed it before we started (a formal agreement with Weiming) and gave them a copy of the attorney’s letter.?
Skilling said the one agent told him he ‘didn’t see an issue,? meanwhile the other agent looked over the school’s I-20 immigration forms and concluded that ‘she didn’t see any issue.?
‘We can only issue (visas) for one year, which we do and the second year, Rochester College issues them,? noted Skilling. ‘I explained to them that we have a partner for the second year. I told them really they are Rochester College students, who also take some classes from us. She reviewed that and said she didn’t see any problems with that either. That was the bottom-line of that.?
Roesner-Meyers said in an e-mail to this reporter that ‘the request to investigate was from a large group of citizens? who signed a formal request that was sent with a letter written by Roesner-Meyers, dated October, 29, 2014.
The letter claimed that Oxford was in violation of F-1 visa laws, which state that ‘the duration of status of an F-1 student in a publicly-funded secondary school cannot exceed an aggregate of 12 months schooling.?
But that Chinese students have been attending Oxford High School for two years. So, she asked for an investigation into the district’s ‘suspected F1 Visa Violation,? as well as the ‘inappropriate conduct by William Skilling, superintendent of Oxford Schools.?
‘As a public employee, he has been entrusted to have a fiduciary duty to the residents of Oxford, yet he accepted cash and goods from WEG (while) simultaneously negotiating and approving contracts with WEG,? Roesner-Meyers wrote in the letter. ‘There are public laws that prohibit public employees from engaging in this type of activity and this should be investigated.?
The letter included the signatures of 15 people along with copies of various newspaper articles where Skilling admitted to being a paid consultant for Weiming and copies of various state and federal laws to support her claims of unethical behavior.
Roesner-Meyers is one of the leaders TEAM 20, a grass roots community group consisting of parents, members of the community and concerned citizens searching for the truth and assessing the impact to the community and students in the Oxford school district as it relates to the 20-year contract between Weiming and Oxford Schools. She also serves as chair of Oxford Township’s Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) and sits on the township planning commission.
Skilling feels that Roesner-Meyers, ‘needs to settle down.?
‘She’s made a lot of inappropriate accusations, unfounded and she just continues to be relentless,? he added. ‘I really believe she should recuse herself from (voting on the proposed Weiming dormitory) on the planning commission because she can’t objectively make a decision on the building itself.?
A call was placed to one of the agents that came to Oxford, Brad Burnett at the FBI Oakland office based in Troy, seeking more information, but he declined to answer questions citing FBI policy.
‘We have a media coordinator (in) downtown (Detroit),? he told this reporter. ‘We’re not allowed to speak with media reps unless it goes through them.?
The media coordinator did not return calls seeking comment.