Rochester Parent, School District Settle For Nearly $190,000

ROCHESTER HILLS, MI — The Rochester School District paid nearly $190,000 to a Rochester parent to settle a lawsuit she filed against the district, claiming school officials got her fired from her job for criticizing the district's COVID-19 policies.

Elena Dinverno claimed a district official contacted her employer and said she was participating in a Facebook group "engaged in launching threats against the school district." Dinverno said she never made any threats against the school district, but rather sought opinions from parents and students in supporting the idea of reopening schools to in-person learning, during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shortly later, she was fired from her position at Blake's Hard Cider, and she filed a lawsuit, claiming her free speech rights were violated when the district called her employer. Although the school district admitted deputy superintendent, Debra Fragomeni, called Dinverno’s employer, attorneys for the district denied any wrongdoing by in the call.

However, the district agreed to pay $116,209 to Dinverno and $72,540 to her attorney to settle the lawsuit, public records show.

Rochester Spokeswoman Lori Grein described in a deposition obtained by The Detroit News how superintendent Robert Shaner guided officials to monitor community discussions on social media.

"We compile information on so much. ... It’s what we do. We monitor," Grein said in her deposition. "What we do is get a pulse of the community on so much. This is just one part of what we do."

In the wake of these revelations, Rochester parents again called for change Monday on the district's school board, namely the resignation of superintendent Robert Shaner.

The Associated Press contributed to this report