Rochester school board member sues board over violation of freedom of speech

A Rochester Community Schools board member who was censured in November for publicly discussing a proposed tax increase filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the school board.

Carol Beth Litkouhi, a trustee of the district’s board of education, filed suit in Oakland County District Court alleging that the board’s censure and removal of her committee assignments violated the First Amendment and Michigan law.

The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation is representing Litkouhi, who argues in her complaint that the board violated her constitutional rights and adopted an unlawful gag rule to silence dissent.

The lawsuit challenges a board bylaw adopted in 2024 that bars trustees from sharing any information that has not already been shared by the district, including — but not limited to — confidential or privileged information.

According to the complaint, that rule goes far beyond protecting confidential material and instead functions as a prior restraint on speech by elected officials.

“Elected officials do not surrender their First Amendment rights when they take office,” said Derk Wilcox, Litkouhi’s attorney, in a press release. Rochester’s policy attempts to silence Litkouhi and keep her constituents in the dark about decisions that directly affect them, he said.

The dispute stems from a private discussion among school officials, including school board members, of a proposed countywide enhancement millage that could be added to the August 2026 ballot, according to a Facebook post from Clarkston Conservatives.

It would raise taxes to increase general funding for districts in Oakland County.

The district superintendent briefed Litkouhi and another trustee in October 2025 on the proposed millage and asked them not to discuss it publicly, according to the lawsuit.

The briefing included messaging strategies intended to improve voter support for the tax proposal.

“As a mom and taxpayer, I believed it was my responsibility as a trustee to be open about public information that directly affects the families I represent, and I was unfairly punished for doing so,” Litkouhi wrote in an email to Michigan Capitol Confidential.

If this bylaw stands, she added, it could be used by school boards across Michigan to suppress transparency.

Litkouhi told CapCon that school boards should not rewrite their rules in a way that makes public information “confidential” simply to avoid debate.

“Open discussion with the public is not misconduct — it is the job,” said Litkouhi.

Litkouhi subsequently wrote an October opinion piece for The Detroit News. She described the tax proposal and criticized efforts to keep it from public discussion.

She noted that the public would eventually be asked to approve the tax increase and had a right to know what officials were planning.

On Nov. 10 the board voted to censure Litkouhi and removed her from all committee and liaison assignments for one year. The resolution accused her of disclosing confidential information and misrepresenting district materials.

The lawsuit states that during the censure discussion, the board failed to identify any specific confidential information Litkouhi had disclosed.

Litkouhi’s complaint argues that information about a proposed millage is not confidential under Michigan law and would be subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.

The school board did not respond to a request for comment.