Rochester school board punished trustee who shared tax proposal

The Rochester Community School District Board of Education has censured a board member for informing the public of an upcoming proposal for a tax increase.

The board voted Nov. 10 to censure fellow trustee Carol Beth Litkouhi, removing her from all committee assignments, after she mentioned a secret proposal for a countywide tax increase in a Detroit News Op-Ed.

Litkouhi Censure 11-10-25_Censure by mcclallen

Although the information is considered public information and would be subject to a Freedom of Information Act request, the board determined Litkouhi violated a board bylaw.

“In order for the proper functioning of the Board, an individual Board member will not share confidential information without the prior authorization of the Board or as may be required by law” states the bylaw.

“I was censured for expressing a viewpoint about a tax proposal that the board majority did not like,” said Litkouhi in an email to Michigan Capitol Confidential.

She told CapCon that if she had supported the tax proposal, she doubts anyone would have had an issue.

“The problem, from their perspective, is that I voiced an opinion that was ‘incomplete, misleading, and harmful’ — in other words, it challenged their preferred narrative,” Litkouhi added.

The trustee said that when leadership is confident in its decisions, it welcomes public discussion.

“When it knows the public may disagree, it tries to limit who gets to speak,” she said.

This is not the first time the board has pressured and bullied dissident members in closed sessions, Litkouhi said. She believes that some of the topics discussed in closed session previously were not appropriate to discuss behind closed doors.

Litkouhi said she has been “directly threatened with legal consequences if I disclose any details about closed session, and I will not violate the law myself.”

The board censured Litkouhi for violating the bylaw, Michelle Bueltel, Rochester Community Schools Board of Education president, told CapCon in an email.

“The Board’s action was not related to Trustee Litkouhi’s First Amendment rights, but rather to her violation of Board Bylaw 1001, which requires all trustees to maintain confidentiality regarding information that has not yet been shared publicly by the district,” Bueltel wrote. “This censure was about breach of trust and governance integrity, not about restricting free speech. School board members receive information so they can make informed decisions on behalf of the district. Sharing that information prematurely or inaccurately undermines the district’s ability to operate effectively and maintain transparency in an orderly and lawful way.

“The Board remains committed to transparency and open communication with our community. If a county wide millage issue comes before the board, accurate information will be shared with the community prior to any vote. Community members are always welcome to share their thoughts with the board through email or in person at a public meeting.”

A Mackinac Center lawyer told CapCon that the punishment was deeply troubling.

“The board’s attempt to silence one of its own for speaking publicly about a tax proposal is deeply troubling,” said Derk Wilcox, senior attorney at the Mackinac Center. “Elected trustees answer to voters, not to superintendents.”