Robbinsdale school board member resigns just before board vote on her disciplinary pay cut

A member of the Robbinsdale school board resigned this week — the latest disruptive surprise in a district that’s made headlines for its dysfunctional board and a recent $20 million budget error.

Sharon Brooks, whose term was set to run through 2026, submitted her letter of resignation just minutes before the start of Monday’s board meeting, Board Chair Greta Evans-Becker said.

The agenda included a resolution to cut Brooks' annual stipend by 25% as an effort to admonish Brooks for what the board said was ongoing inappropriate conduct. It cited a letter to the editor by Brooks, published in December in the Sun Post, that aired grievances over the district’s finances and other board members.

The board had censured Brooks twice before, but that “action has been ineffective in addressing Director Brooks' behavior,” read the board resolution disavowing Brook’s letter.

That resolution, which also included the language about Brooks' pay cut, passed 5-1 on Monday. Board Member Helen Bassett cast the sole dissenting vote.

Brooks could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

According to the board resolution approved Monday, the letter misrepresented the role of the school board treasurer. It also, the resolution said, suggested that former Board Treasurer John Vento had engaged in misconduct by failing to make a statement about the district’s budgeting error.

“The statements in the letter do not reflect the Board’s opinions, values, norms or processes,” read the board’s resolution. The resolution also included language to decrease Brooks' 2025 stipend from $7,800 to $5,850 “in an effort to address Director Brooks' behavior and to prevent the same or similar behavior from recurring in the future.”

Brooks has been censured twice over allegations of inappropriate conduct and harassment, largely relating to a dispute with Board Member Caroline Long over Long’s racial identification. Both women identify as Black.

The origins of that dispute, which Brooks also referred to in her letter to the editor, were outlined in a 34-page workplace conduct investigation released in August 2024. That investigation determined that personal disputes and cross-complaints among at least six of the seven members of the board in 2024 had resulted in “a high level of dysfunction and animosity in the school board’s operations.”

In November’s election, voters re-elected incumbents Bassett and Evans-Becker and elected new member Aviva Hillenbrand.

On Monday, the board also voted 4-2 to revise the budget for this school year. The revision reflects the $20 million budgeting error that district leaders identified in November. Chief Financial Officer Kristen Hoheisel said the district still expects to be $13 million in the red, however, by the end of the year.

The school board has not yet outlined a process to fill Brooks' board seat. Members plan to discuss the issue later this month.