Termination of Executive Director Eli Cohen: Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Recommended Decision

On Tuesday, March 7, the Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy Board of Directors unanimously voted to uphold the hearing officer’s “Findings of Fact, Conclusion of Law and Recommended Decisions,” and to immediately terminate the employment of Executive Director Eli Cohen. The board then approved the release of a redacted version of this document to the FALA community. The redacted version was written by Dr. Rene Diaz, former Superintendent of the Phoenix Union High School District and the Phoenix Elementary School District who served as the third-party, external, and unbiased hearing officer for Mr. Cohen’s termination. Mr. Cohen and the board agreed to have Dr. Diaz serve as the hearing officer in the termination process.

The board has heard many calls, from all areas of the community for greater transparency in the past several months. The board has taken the approach that it must establish the facts and ensure the validity of the allegations presented. Thus in an interest to protect all parties discussed, the board has not made these details public to date. 

The board agrees with Dr. Diaz’s findings that the allegations reflected in this document have sufficient merit to warrant Mr. Cohen’s termination and in response to the calls for transparency, the board has released Dr. Diaz’s Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Recommended Decision to the community.

The March 7, 2023, Board Meeting can be found here: https://flagarts.com/march-7-2023-board-meeting/