The director of diversity, equity and inclusion at Holt Public Schools recently circulated an internal memo mentioning his desire to set up private spaces within a school for minority students, with white people not allowed. This, Matt Morales said, was “equity work in creating a more inclusive learning community.”

Morales said he wrote the post to explain his efforts to set up affinity spaces, or areas where people who share certain characteristics can meet. His memo stated that an affinity space for Black people had already been created.

His memo included a link to an article written by Kelsey Blackwell and posted on a website called the Arrow Journal. It carried the title “Why People of Color Need Spaces Without White People.”

The article states: “We need spaces where we can be our authentic selves without white people’s judgment and insecurity muzzling that expression. We need spaces where we can simply be—where we can get off the treadmill of making white people comfortable and finally realize just how tired we are... The values of whiteness are the water in which we all swim. No one is immune. Those values dictate who speaks, how loud, when, the words we use, what we don’t say, what is ignored, who is validated and who is not.”

Holt Public Schools Superintendent David Hornak did not respond to an email seeking comment. As of the current school year, 58% of students in the Lansing-area school district are white.

A 2018 analysis of affinity groups conducted by three Michigan-licensed attorneys was posted on the American Bar Association website. It included the following:

“Because affinity groups are often based on protected characteristics such as race, sex, age, or disability, employers must proceed with caution. Dealing with affinity groups brings an inherent risk of violating laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of protected characteristics. The case law addressing how anti-discrimination laws affect affinity groups is sparse, potentially exposing employers to unforeseen and unpredictable liability... Focusing on a particular demographic does not mean an affinity group can discriminate in accepting members. This is not always obvious to affinity groups. This lack of understanding by employer sanctioned affinity groups could expose the employer to liability for the group’s unlawful discrimination.”

The analysis concludes, “Additionally, public employers should consider whether disciplinary action or otherwise regulating affinity-group activity may infringe upon employees’ free speech or other constitutional rights.”

Ann Arbor police detective David Monroe was known within the department for rarely turning down an opportunity to work overtime. For example, in 2021, his last full year with the department, overtime hours boosted Monroe’s total pay to $184,649.

They also contributed to Monroe retiring with an annual pension of about $159,160.

According to city records, Monroe was hired in 1987 and retired with 35 years of service. The department’s union contract permits officers to boost their pension payout calculations by adding the overtime they earn during their last five years on the job. This resulted in Monroe collecting pay that was 96.25% higher than his base salary during those years.

Ann Arbor police officers who put in overtime on University of Michigan football Saturdays are a familiar sight, and the extra revenue they collect as a result also pays off in higher pension benefits for the rest of their lives.

Monroe’s annual pension totals shown here are estimates, based on gross salary data and his years of service, as provided by the city of Ann Arbor. Ann Arbor police officers are not eligible for Social Security benefits because they don’t pay 6.2% of their paycheck into the program. For Monroe, that meant he kept about $9,100 of his pay in 2021 in lieu of contributing to Social Security.

Ann Arbor's pension system was 100% funded as of 2021.

"City managers ought to be concerned about employees taking advantage of their benefit rules," said James Hohman, director of fiscal policy for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. "But they have saved money to pay for generous pensions and have set aside enough money to pay for the pensions their employees earned. There is a risk of future problems, but full funding stops even large pensions from burdening future taxpayers."

Editor's note: Ann Arbor's pension system funding was added to this story.