Polk County Sheriff(DES MOINES, Iowa) — The Des Moines Public Schools board announced Friday it intends to pursue legal action against a consulting firm it hired in 2023 to conduct a search for a new superintendent, claiming the firm failed to “properly vet candidates” after the district’s now-former superintendent was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents last week. Federal authorities said the superintendent, Ian Roberts, is not in the U.S. legally and has not had any work authorization in the U.S. since 2020. He had served as the superintendent of the Des Moines district since July 2023 until his resignation this week following his detainment. Norris claimed it has become clear that the consulting firm failed to turn up information “of a negative nature” about Roberts that it should have flagged to the school board. “As the facts revealed themselves over the past several days, it was crystal clear that the search firm did not do its job,” Norris said.