Rochester Community Schools Compiles Dossiers On Parents

On February 16, 2022, in the United States District Court Eastern District of Michigan Southern Division Hon. Mark A. Goldsmith granted Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to File Second Amended Complaint in the case of Dinverno v. Rochester Community School District et al. 

Statement of Fact

So, what is the case of Dinverno v. Rochester Community School (RCS) District et al all about?  Dinverno filed suit on May 3, 2021, against the Rochester Community School District, BOE Trustee Kristin Bull (President of the board at that time), and Superintendent Robert Shaner after she was terminated on December 18, 2020, from Blake’s Hard Cider Co.  Dinverno had worked for Blake’s Hard Cider Co since August of 2019, as the Marketing Director.   

The claim being made by Dinverno is that RCS contacted her employer to intimidate and silence her as she was a vocal advocate for the district’s students return to in-person instruction.   Ultimately, this contact between RCS and the leadership at Blake’s Hard Cider Co. led to her termination.  

The Plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint and Demand for Jury Trial was filed on February 16, 2022 (which RCS did not object to). After depositions were held Assistant Superintendent Debra Fragomeni was added as a defendant.  Based upon this filing, here are the factors that led to Dinverno’s termination.  

November 5, 2020: 

• Amy DiCresce, RCS’s Public Affairs Specialist, emailed Lori Grein, RCS’s Executive Director of Strategic Communications for RCS about a social media post made by Dinverno.  
• In this email, DiCresce included Dinverno’s full name, her Facebook profile name, the names of her children, her personal email address, and two phone numbers.  
• DiCresce stated in this email to Grein that “She’s the marketing director for Blake’ Hard Cider.” 
• DiCresce’s email was forwarded to Shaner, Fragomeni, and Bull.

November 6, 2020:

• Fragomeni told Marty Blake that Ms. Dinverno’s social media advocacy and criticism of the school district was “alarming, threatening and posed a danger to the district and the students’ well-being.”  This statement was unture.
• Fragomeni also told Marty Blake that Ms. Dinverno had referred to her position at Blake’s Hard Cider in her online criticism of the school district and was portraying her opinion on the reopening of schools as Blake’s Hard Cider’s position.  This was another untrue statement. 
• Fragomeni then brought up Andrea Blake, an RCS teacher and daughter Marty Blake.  Fragomeni expressed concern that Dinverno’s advocacy could negatively impact Andrea Blake.  

November 7, 2020: 

• Marty Blake directed Robert Sharpe, COO of Blake’s to address these issues with Ms. Dinverno. Blake’s HR manager, Stacy Sunde, then called Ms. Dinverno in for a meeting on the same day.  
• Sunde told Dinverno that Marty Blake had been contacted by someone from the “BOE” regarding Dinverno’s social media posts about the district and warned Dinverno that she needed to watch what she was saying online. Dinverno explained that she never made any threats in any Facebook group and that her advocacy regarding the district was appropriate and respectful.

December 12, 2020:

“It has come to my attention that certain board members are contacting parents places of work to notify them that their behavior on the social channels they participate in is undesirable. May I remind you that we pay for your salaries with our tax dollars? And that what you are doing is against the by laws of the BOE? Every parents has the right to express their sadness, frustration, anger, as a right to freedom of speech. They have no one to speak with because the nothing is changing! If you have a problem with a particular parent please do what you tell our kids to do— go to the course. Let them tell you how they feel. By reporting parents you are risking their livelihood. Their employment. That is all they have right now. I know you all understand that kids are sad, hurting, giving up, and as parents we will go whatever is necessary for our children. Parents are hurting too. The fact that certain members of the board are trying to shut parents up because they are vocal about their pain and suffering is unacceptable. Now let me be clear—threats are unacceptable. But using our voices. Our right to free speech. Is our GOD GIVEN RIGHT. If you don’t like it—then have a conversation with that parent. And maybe. Just maybe. Make a change that will impact these kids in a positive way. Dr. Shaner—I would be happy to fill you in on what I have learned about certain members of your board reporting parents to their work. Please reach out to me.”

Dinverno submitted a comment to the BOE and RCS administration through the District’s online feedback portal

December 13, 2020:

• Shaner, Bull, and all the BOE Trustees (Beers, Anness, Walker-Leidy, Bueltel, Zabat, & Muska) learned it was Fragomeni who had called Dinverno’s employer, and not a member of the BOE.
• No one from RCS or the BOE reached out to Dinverno to inform her that she was correct that her employer had in fact been called, but it was not a member of the BOE it was Fragomeni. 

December 15, 2020:

• Shaner called Dinverno to discuss her December 12th comment to the district. 
• Dinverno asked Shaner to address the BOE. 
• Shaner knew that Fragomeni had contacted Blake’s, not a member of the BOE. Instead of telling who made the call he decided to tell Dinverno that there was nothing he could do.
• Shaner went on to complain to Dinverno about the advocacy Facebook groups and told her that the behavior of the parents participating in the group was wrong.  

December 18, 2020:

• Dinverno was abruptly terminated from Blake’s, effective immediately. 
• Andrew Blake told Ms. Dinverno that her position was no longer necessary. He praised Ms. Dinverno’s performance and offered to write her a letter of recommendation. 
• A few weeks later, Blake’s posted a job opening for the same position on Linkedin.  
• Hours after Dinverno’s termination, Bull responded via email to Dinverno’s December 12th communication to the district. 
• Bull stated, “I can assure you, on behalf of the Board of Education, that none of us have ever or would think to reach out to the employers of our district parents related to anything posted on social media.” 
• Bull knew that Fragomeni, an employee of the district that the BOE oversees, had called Dinverno’s employer.
• Bull also falsely said, “we don’t actively monitor social media.”  When in fact RCS tasked DiCresce and Grein with monitoring social media back in March 2020 (combined salaries $166,477.00).  

January 11, 2021:

• Grein sent approximately 165 pages of screenshots from district parents’ social media activity to Fragomeni and Bull. Many of the screenshots contained discussions between parents, this was hours before the start of a BOE meeting.  
• Dinverno addressed the BOE during a period reserved for public comment. Dinverno attempted to discuss the fact that someone from the district had contacted her employer. 
• The BOE knew that Fragomeni had in fact contacted Dinverno’s employer. 
• BOE Vice President Beers told Dinverno to “save it for Facebook.” 
• BOE Trustee Zabat claims his opinion is a fact.
• The BOE and the administration hid the fact that Fragomeni had called Dinverno’s employer by saying a BOE member did not make the call.  

January 14, 2021:

• Collins & Blaha, P.C. was directed by Dr. Shaner and Fragomeni to issue the cease-and-desist letter to Dinverno. 
• The letter focused on the statement “no BOE should contact an employer.”
• The Letter also stated “[t]he District is prepared to preserve its legal rights using the tools available to it to the fullest extent of the law.”
• The BOE, Shaner, and Fragomeni all knew Deniverno’s employer had been contacted. 

November 5, 2021:

• During the deposition of Marty Blake was when it was learned that Fragomeni made the call and not Bull.

Questions:

• Why on December 13, 2020 did the BOE not address or acknowledge that Fragomeni made the call?
• Why was the BOE not transparent with the community that they are elected to represent?
• Why did Shaner say there was nothing he could do?  Does Fragomeni not report to him?

Other Key Points:

• Shaner, himself, contacted the employer of another parent, to complain about the parent’s posts.  
• May 4, 2021 Shaner files a police report based on the social media post collected by DiCresce and Grein.
• One parent was sent two cease and desist letters on behalf of the district and the BOE between January and March of 2021 because the district claimed the parent “publicly and falsely suggest[ed] that a Board member may be engaged in an ongoing financial conflict of interest” and that the parent “appear[ed] to have done so as part of an attempt to intimidate Board members to adopt a policy position [the parent] prefer[red].”
• Amy DiCresce, RCS’s Public Affairs Specialist, and Lori Grein, RCS’s Executive Director of Strategic Communications, were assigned to regularly capture screenshots of district parents’ social media posts and comments which criticized RCS.
• RCS compile dossiers that frequently included personal information about district parents such as their place of employment, the names of their children, and which schools their children attended. 
• The dossiers were circulated to members of the RCS administration and BOE members.
• The district’s lawyer tried to remove Shaner and Bull from the lawsuit.