ROCKFORD, MI - The Rockford Public Schools Board of Education voted Tuesday to censure one of its trustees after she sent an email to a district employee that questioned the employee's alleged association with the Muslim Brotherhood.

The board held a special meeting Tuesday morning, with a single agenda item listed as a trustee complaint. A resolution read at the meeting stated that last month the board was informed that a district employee had received an email from Trustee Dr. Barbara Helms.

Helms admitted to sending the email. The message read: "Do you have any association with the muslin brotherhood association (sic). Asking for a friend."

The board found that the email included offensive, unwelcome, and race-based language in violation of the district's harassment policies. The resolution further stated that the comments were discriminatory, improper, and do not reflect the views of the full board.

Rockford Schools Superintendent Steve Matthews confirmed the board voted to censure Helms and to disavow the statements in her email.

Helms was elected in 2023 to a board term that expires this year, according to the district's website. Rockford's next scheduled board meeting is set for September 14.

The Michigan chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) welcomed the board's decision. Executive Director Dawud Walid said in a statement, "We welcome the Rockford Board of Education's decisive action to censure this trustee. Public school board officials are entrusted with serving all students, families, and staff regardless of their faith or ethnicity. Questioning a staff member's loyalty or background using anti-Muslim conspiracy theories is entirely unacceptable. This vote sends a clear message that Islamophobia and bigoted harassment will not be tolerated in our public educational institutions."

CAIR-MI said the censure came after board members reviewed communications from the trustee that used anti-Muslim tropes and questioned the employee's background based on religious and racial stereotypes. The organization said school board leadership reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining an inclusive environment free from bias and anti-Muslim bigotry.