Auon’tai Anderson, Denver Public Schools pay $25K in settlement over blocking parent online

Maddie Rhodes
·3 min read
3

DENVER (KDVR) — Denver Public Schools and former school board member Auon’tai Anderson reached two settlements after Anderson deleted a Facebook comment last summer, which led to a lawsuit.

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The settlement stems from a lawsuit filed in September that claimed Anderson, former vice president of the Board of Education, violated First Amendment rights of one of his constituents after he deleted a Facebook comment and blocked a student’s parent from his page.

In newly released documents, both settlements showed that Anderson and DPS paid a total of $25,000.

Anderson accused of violating First Amendment

In July 2023, Anderson posted on Facebook regarding the firing of the McAuliffe International School principal, Kurt Dennis.

In the since-deleted Facebook post, Anderson asked for footage to be released of a meeting with Dennis and the Northeast Denver Innovation Zone Board of Directors, which oversees the school.

“But in a democratic society, it is not just the responsibility of those in office to ensure transparency, it is also the duty of the public to demand it,” Anderson wrote.

In response to the Facebook post, Eve Chen, a parent of a Denver Public Schools student, commented, “Where can I email to ask for an unrelated investigation report against you as a taxpayer? As a taxpayer, I think I am entitled to read that too.”

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Anderson blocked Chen and deleted her comment, according to the lawsuit filed by attorney Andy McNulty.

The settlement with Anderson that was reached in February included a $15,000 payment. Denver Public Schools agreed to pay $10,000 in its settlement, which was reached in late March.

“This is one of the first cases to settle after the Supreme Court’s decision in Lindke v. Freed and it shows that the First Amendment still protects citizen’s speech online from government censorship,” said Chen’s attorney Andy McNulty.

DPS responded to FOX31’s request for comment with a statement.

“Denver Public Schools is satisfied that we were able to come to a settlement agreement in the lawsuit filed by Ms. Chen. The Board of Education made changes to Governance Policy 9 which clarifies what is permitted by sitting Directors on their social media platforms in line with the recent US Supreme Court decision in Lindke v. Freed. Although the US Supreme Court agreed that public figures, such as Board Members, could block constituents in certain circumstances likely applicable to this case, the District chose to settle this matter to avoid additional costs associated with litigation.”

Anderson also provided input on the settlement.

“I am grateful that both Denver Public Schools and I have resolved the ongoing litigation with Ms. Chen,” Anderson said in a written statement. “While this resolution came at the expense of tax-payer dollars that could have been directed elsewhere, I hope Ms. Chen has the money she needs to now take care of herself and her family. Individuals who are seeking financial support should not have to turn to frivolous lawsuits against elected officials but seek our help so that we can find them the resources that they need.

“Despite her claims, Ms. Chen was never entirely cut off from communication, maintaining open channels on several social media platforms. I believe that after the SCOTUS ruling, we would have eventually won the case against Ms. Chen,” Anderson said.

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