Former River Rouge School Official Sentenced to Prison

Dolores Reid, 53, of Southfield, the former director of state and federal programs for the River Rouge School District, was sentenced to five years in prison today by United States District Judge Bernard A. Friedman. Reid had been convicted of acceptance of a bribe and mail fraud by a federal jury in Detroit in November, 2012.

The evidence presented during the trial showed that, in 2010 and 2011, Reid accepted thousands of dollars in cash for giving preferential treatment to a company that provided tutoring services to the River Rouge School District under the Supplementary Educational Services provision of the No Child Left Behind Act. This company received federal funds through the Michigan Department of Education, which subsequently recaptured the funds, causing the River Rouge School District to lose approximately $160,000. Among other things, Reid promoted a tutoring program for this company by falsely informing parents of students entering the River Rouge High School that the program was mandatory, when, in fact, it was not mandatory.

“Corruption by public officials is never acceptable, but it is particularly egregious when an official steals money intended for the education of school children,” McQuade said. “Stealing education funds robs children of their future.”

Special Agent in Charge Robert D. Foley, III stated, “Public officials who abuse their power and accept bribes will face severe consequences for their crimes. The FBI-led Detroit Area Public Corruption Task Force is committed to ensuring citizens have honest government.”

The case was investigated by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Education-Office of Inspector General, and the Michigan Attorney General’s Office.