Jeffers Pond is one of several elementary schools within the district for students in kindergarten through grade 5.
A federal lawsuit has been filed on behalf of a Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools teacher who was suspended without pay in December following a post she made on a social media site.
The lawsuit, filed on Aug. 20 by the Upper Midwest Law Center representing Brooke Zahn, a teacher at Jeffers Elementary School in Prior Lake, alleges that the school district and two administrators violated her First Amendment rights through retaliation and viewpoint discrimination.
She had been suspended for seven days without pay by the school district for allegedly violating school policies through a posting in a Facebook group on Dec. 1. The image posted included a caption which stated: “A family that is deported together stays together.” Zahn was also required to complete cultural competency training. In February, through her attorney, she initially threatened legal action and requested to be reimbursed for lost wages and issued a public, formal apology.
Superintendent Michael Thomas and Patrick Glynn, principal of Jeffers Pond Elementary, were both named as defendants in the lawsuit, as was the Prior Lake-Savage Area School District.
The lawsuit asserts that Zahn, a teacher within the district since 2016, was punished because outside critics disagreed with her views posted Dec. 1, 2024 on a private Facebook page. The lawsuit stated Zahn’s post was made during non-work hours from her home, and under her maiden name, Brooke Bendorf. She has contended the post represented only her personal views. Prior to her Facebook account being deactivated earlier this year, the intro section to her profile stated “The views I share are mine and mine alone and only represent me.”
According to the lawsuit, Thomas Homan, Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the first Trump administration, made headlines toward the end of the 2024 Presidential campaign when he commented that to avoid family separations, “families can be deported together.”
At that time, Zahn was a member of the private Facebook group called “Prior Lake Light Hearted Conservative Group US,” the site where she made her original post, which was later shared by others on sites outside of the original group. The lawsuit states Zahn “believed immigration laws should neither go unenforced nor cause family members to be separated,” and her post was intended as a play off of the saying “the family that prays together stays together,” as frequently quoted by some religious and conservative organizations.
School district officials began receiving complaints from the public in subsequent weeks, with some respondents asking that she be punished for her actions; several comments that were received supported Zahn. Approximately 22 emails were sent to the district office; none were believed to have been written from a parent of a student in Zahn’s class, according to the legal document. The lawsuit states that “District 719 itself then chose to broadcast the issue much more widely,” through email blasts approved by Glynn that included parents of Jeffers Pond students and staff members. The same email was reportedly sent to all staff members of District 719 after being authorized by Thomas. Such actions did not follow standard district practices, according to the lawsuit.
On Dec. 11, Zahn received a letter from the district suspending her for seven days without pay, ordered her to refrain from posting content on social media that “could reasonably be perceived as inconsistent with your role as a District employee,” “demonstrate good judgment and professionalism … when members of the District community could reasonably perceive you are acting in your role as a District teacher,” and ordered her to complete cultural competence and inclusion professional development training. The letter also reportedly stated Zahn violated district Policy 428 which references employee use of social media, and Policy 413 which prohibits harassment of others on the basis of national origin.
The letter required her to comply with the orders or face discipline up to and including immediate termination of employment. It alleged the posting conflicted with the district’s strategic plan and caused “significant education disruption.” The letter also referenced the district’s disciplining of Zahn for speaking out on social media against Covid-19 masking requirements in 2021, at which time she was ordered to avoid any conduct that was the same or similar to that incident.
The lawsuit stated Zahn filed a grievance regarding the disciplinary letter through the Prior Lake-Savage Education Association, which was rejected by the district in January.
According to her attorneys, Zahn’s Facebook post was an activity protected by the First Amendment. The lawsuit is requesting removal of the 2021 and 2024 disciplinary actions recorded in her personnel file; damages for lost wages and time spent in cultural competence training; awarding of attorney fees; and compensation for emotional distress and reputational harm.
When contacted about the lawsuit, a school district representative said it does not comment on pending litigation.
Zahn is currently employed as a teacher at Jeffers Pond Elementary.