Rochester Community Schools board member resigns

The beleaguered Rochester Community Schools said it has a Board of Education vacancy after one of its members resigned.

Kristin Bull, the board's treasurer, submitted a letter of resignation, effective Wednesday, district officials announced. Bull was the president of the school board early in the COVID-19 pandemic as it endured a series of controversies involving then Superintendent Robert Shaner, who resigned in early August.

"For nearly nine years, Kristin has been a dedicated public servant, volunteering as a Board member to put the needs of students first," Debi Fragomeni, deputy superintendent for teaching and learning, said in a Thursday statement. "During her tenure, the board ensured a balanced and equitable spending plan that supported high quality student programs, such as the addition of the district’s orchestra program. Bond and sinking fund programs were also overwhelmingly supported by the community to enhance safety and school security and provide long lasting districtwide improvements. We are truly grateful for Kristin’s leadership and service to our community."

In her letter, Bull said "it has been an honor and a privilege to serve this community in collaboration with the dedicated educators who show up every day for our kids."

She also said she hopes her successor "will bring to this role the energy, resolve and clear focus needed to continue to move RCS forward."

The news comes a little more than a week after the district said it named an interim superintendent following the resignation of Shaner, who led the district for more than a decade and had been on leave since March.

Since February 2022, some parents in the district called for Shaner, several of his staff members and board members to resign after he admitted under deposition that the school system followed parents' social media posts and created dossiers on those critical of district decisions and those who called for re-opening schools during the pandemic. School officials also contacted those parents' employers or alerted police in 2020 and 2021.

In 2022, the Rochester school district paid $188,750 to settle a federal civil lawsuit that accused school administrators of monitoring parents' social media activity and reporting posts critical of the district to their employers and police. The payout was made to parent Elena Dinverno and her lawyer after Dinverno alleged that she lost her job at Blake's Hard Cider in December 2020 after a school official called her employer to falsely claim she was participating in a group launching threats against the school district.

The initially claimed that then-Board of Education President Bull called her employer to falsely claim Dinverno was participating in a group launching threats against the school district, but was later changed to indicate Fragomeni made the call, not Bull. Fragomeni later admitted in a deposition she contacted Blake's. Both Fragomeni and Bull were aware of the call that occurred weeks before district attorney Jeremy Chisholm sent Dinverno a cease-and-desist letter.

"This case was never about the money," Dinverno said in an email in 2022. "It was about truth and justice. And the ability to open others eyes up to the methods our district has been using to intimidate citizens."

District officials said the board is actively searching for someone to fill Bull's vacancy.

Board members will appoint someone to the position who will serve through Dec. 31, 2024.

To apply for the post, candidates must fill out and submit an online application along with a resume at https://form.jotform.com/212024481285147.

They can also drop off a hard copy or mail to the Rochester Community School District Administration Building, 52585 Dequindre Road, Rochester, MI 48307. All packets should be addressed: "To the Attention of Michelle Bueltel, President, Board of Education of the Rochester Community School District."

cramirez@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @CharlesERamirez