We, the undersigned constituents of Rochester Community Schools, thank you for your service as Board of Education Trustees. We recognize and appreciate that you are volunteers serving our community and that you strive to support our teachers, paraprofessionals, other staff, and administrators in furthering our district’s commitment to educating our children in a safe and nurturing environment.

In order to continuously strive for excellence, we, your constituents, sometimes offer constructive criticism and suggestions when we see room for improvement in the district. This input, and your response to it, is necessary to maintain a productive relationship between the Board of Education, the district, and the community.

We, the undersigned, do not always agree with each other on specific issues or concerns, but we do collectively believe in our inalienable right to use our voices without fear of retaliation, and that right has been violated. District staff have, at taxpayers' expense, collected and disseminated personal information, monitored social media, contacted parents' employers, sent baseless cease and desist orders, and taken other actions against parents for the purposes of intimidation and retaliation. 

The depositions made public in the federal lawsuit Dinverno vs. RCS should be required reading for all Board of Education Trustees and anyone with a stake in our school district. If you have not read them, we suggest you do so as soon as possible.

The RCS code of conduct has been broken by our own district leadership. Many members of our community no longer feel safe, valued, or respected. District staff have infringed on the rights of parents, and the Board of Education has made no effort to condemn this behavior. This is unacceptable. 

Please acknowledge the damage done and take the necessary steps to restore pride in our beloved school district. In light of the revelations brought forth in the depositions and other ethical violations brought forward in recent months, we ask you to apply appropriate disciplinary action against Superintendent Robert Shaner and Deputy Superintendent Debi Fragomeni. We recommend their resignations or terminations.

We recommend the board create an updated and detailed anti-retaliation policy, as proposed by Trustee Joe Pittel, to be implemented by the start of the 2022-23 school year.  

We also recommend an independent investigation into the alleged ethics and policy violations that have been brought to your attention on numerous occasions and which are in breach of your own bylaws, your own administrative policies and regulations, and the Michigan Code of Educational Ethics.

If you are unable or unwilling to implement these recommendations, we suggest you step down as you are unfit to carry out your duties as trustees and to act as our representatives, and we are unable to place our trust in you to guide and oversee the healthy functioning of our school district.