The Rochester Community School District is ditching its director of diversity, equity and inclusion in an effort to avoid the loss of $10 million in federal education funding.
The decision is aimed at complying with President Donald Trump’s directive to eliminate DEI programs in government schools and institutions, a move reiterated in an April 3 notice from the U.S. Department of Education that warned the “continued use of illegal DEI practices may subject the individual or entity using such practices to serious consequences,” The Oakland Press reports.
In a letter to parents on Friday, Rochester Superintendent Nicholas Russo explained why the district will do away with its DEI director, but did not include any information on the position, its cost to taxpayers, or who previously held the role.
John Silveri, the district’s former interim superintendent, served as DEI director in the past, but was replaced by Russo last April, according to the Press.
“In order to continue receiving federal funds, the Trump administration has ordered state education agencies and public school districts to certify that they are following federal civil rights laws and eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs,” Russo wrote to parents. “To avoid a substantial risk, we are discontinuing the position of DEI director so as not to jeopardize the loss of federal funds for our students.”
Russo noted that refusing to comply could cost the district over $10 million in grants, contracts and other funding.
Former Rochester School Board member Andrew Weaver applauded the move, though he noted it will take more to ensure the district is complying with Trump’s directive.
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“While eliminating a six-figure central office position without tangible metrics is a positive and necessary first step toward financial accountability, your message leaves major concerns unaddressed,” Weaver wrote in an email response to Russo cited by the Press. “Eliminating one position does not erase the broader activities and frameworks that fall under DEI. Ignoring this reality places our students and district in jeopardy.”
The change in Rochester schools, the first K-12 system in Oakland County to confirm an end to DEI, follows the same decision at the University of Michigan in March.
“Conversations about (DEI at UM) have been ongoing since at least 2023 and, with recent federal executive orders, guidance and funding cuts bringing urgency to the issue, we are moving forward with changes that will impact our community at the University of Michigan and Michigan Medicine,” UM President Santa Ono and other officials wrote in a statement to students, faculty and staff.
The announcement cited Trump executive orders on DEI, a Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals decision upholding enforcement of those orders, and a Dear Colleague Letter from the Department of Education that highlighted the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision striking down race-based affirmative action.
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The letter listed UM among 45 schools under investigation by the DoE for utilizing “racial preferences” in academics and scholarships in violation of that court decision, and threatened the loss of federal funds for schools that don’t come into compliance, according to The Hill.
“The Department will no longer tolerate the overt and covert racial discrimination that has become widespread in this Nation’s educational institutions,” the letter read. “The law is clear: treating students differently on the basis of race to achieve nebulous goals such as diversity, racial balancing, social justice, or equity is illegal under controlling Supreme Court precedent.”
UM ultimately decided to shutter its DEI office, and the Office of Health Equity and Inclusion, with resources shifting “to other offices focused on student access and opportunity.”
University officials also ditched UM’s DEI 2.0 Strategic Plan and expanded a decision to end DEI for faculty hiring to all decisions on academics, hiring, promotions, awards, annual reviews and other assessments.
Others in Michigan, meanwhile, are openly defying the 47th POTUS on DEI issues.
Democratic members of the Michigan State Board of Education in March voted to approve a resolution along party lines titled “Defending Public Education, Civil Rights, and Democracy Against Executive Orders and Directives that Threaten our Children and Communities.”
The resolution alleges the president’s executive orders “pose direct threats to children, public education, and fundamental civil rights,” pointing to efforts by Trump to shut down the U.S. Department of Education, end birthright citizenship, eliminate DEI, support school choice, and policies it describes as “federal overreach into curriculum and school policies.”
The document goes on to affirm an “unwavering commitment” to DEI, “rejecting any federal efforts to undermine these principles,” and professes support for Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s numerous legal challenges to Trump’s EOs.
The state board resolution was followed days later by Senate Resolution 18, approved by Democrats who control the state Senate, to encourage lawmakers, school leaders and employers to “adopt and uphold the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion which promote inclusivity, protect freedom of expression, remove barriers, and provide equitable opportunities for every American to pursue their dreams.”
SR 18 sponsor Sen. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, told reporters with The Detroit News and other outlets the resolution – a symbolic gesture with no force of law – reflects “a statement of our values.”
White Lake Republican state Sen. Jim Runestad, chair of the Michigan Republican Party, urged Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in January to “immediately halt all Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies related to hiring, training, and spending practices.”
He argued last month SR 18 is a distraction from more important priorities in the Great Lakes State.
“When you are focused on resolutions promoting DEI instead of addressing the massive academic underperformance of our students or the fentanyl crisis, you might just be out of touch with the priorities of the people here in the state of Michigan,” he said.
An NBC News poll of 1,000 registered voters in March found 49% want to eliminate DEI programs, while 48% believe they should continue.
“Asked to share whether they have positive or negative feelings about DEI programs, a slightly higher share of voters (43%) say they have negative feelings, while 39% have positive views and 14% are neutral,” according to the news site.
The poll had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.