The Wisconsin Transparency Project
Kamenick Law Office, LLC
Attorney Tom Kamenick, President & Founder
1144 Noridge Trail
Port Washington, WI 53074
(262) 365-7434
www.wiopenrecords.com
[email protected]Christian A. Gossett
District Attorney, Winnebago County
448 Algoma Blvd.
Oshkosh, WI 54901
Josh Kaul
Attorney General, State of Wisconsin
Wisconsin Department of Justice
P.O. Box 7857
Madison, WI 53707-7857
VERIFIED COMPLAINT UNDER WIS. STAT. § 19.97(1)
Complainant Kristine Walsh, by her attorney Thomas C. Kamenick of the Wisconsin
Transparency Project and Kamenick Law Office, LLC, hereby makes this verified complaint
under Wis. Stat. § 19.97(1) against the Oshkosh Area School District Board of Education and its
members, alleging as follows:
1. This verified complaint alleges that the Oshkosh Area School District Board of
Education (“Board”) and its members violated the Open Meetings Law by meeting illegally in
closed session on August 25, 2021, entering a closed session without following the proper
procedure and for purposes not permitted by law.
2. This complaint is made to the District Attorney for Winnebago County and to the
Attorney General for the State of Wisconsin, asking them to bring charges against the Board and
its members seeking a declaration that they violated Wisconsin’s Open Meetings Law, Wis. Stat.
1
§ 19.81, et seq., and such other legal and equitable relief as appropriate, including voiding any
improper action taken at any unlawful meeting, as provided in § 19.97(3).
3. Complainant Walsh is an adult resident of Neenah and Oshkosh Area School
District parent.
4. The Oshkosh Area School District is a public school district organized under the
laws of the State of Wisconsin with a business address of 215 South Eagle Street, Oshkosh,
Wisconsin 54902.
5. The Board is the Board of Education of the Oshosh Area School District and, as a
“local . . . board” is a “governmental body” under Wis. Stat. § 19.82(1).
6. Bob Poeschl is a member and President of the Board, and is the presiding officer
of the Board.
7. The other members of the Board are Barbara Herzog, Vice President, Liz
Szilagyi, Treasurer, Beth Wyman, Clerk, Stephanie Carlin, Kristopher Karns, and Chris Wright
(collectively, the “Members”).
FACTS
8. A Board meeting was scheduled to be held at 6:00pm on Wednesday, August 25,
2021. The meeting was scheduled to be held at the District’s Administration Office, 215 South
Eagle Street, Oshkosh.
9. The agenda for the meeting did not provide notice of any closed session. A true
and accurate copy of the agenda for that meeting is attached as Exhibit A.
10. Video of the meeting, provided by Oshkosh Media is available at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSttjkGsLz8.
2
11. The video recording, starting at approximately 10:05, shows Members seated
around several tables in the room they ordinarily use for Board meetings. The clock visible on
the wall shows approximately 6:00pm.
12. The meeting was never called to order.
13. At approximately 12:00 on the video (6:02pm), the stream cuts out.
14. At approximately 16:05 on the video (6:06pm), the stream begins again, and the
Members can be seen packing up their belongings, standing up, and leaving.
15. Ostensibly, the Members left the room because some members of the public in
attendance refused to wear masks.
16. At that point, the Members left the room and gathered in the Superintendent’s
office for approximately a half hour.
17. The public was not permitted to attend or observe the Members in the
Superintendent’s office.
18. At approximately 45:00 on the video (6:35pm), the video begins again. Board
President Bob Poeschl is seen explaining to the crowd that due to “failure to comply with
Oshkosh Area School District protocols,” the meeting is being postponed to a later date.
19. Multiple media reports confirm that the Members of the Board left the meeting
room and met elsewhere behind closed doors. See, e.g.,
https://www.wbay.com/2021/08/25/oshkosh-school-board-meeting-called-off-after-protesters-
enter-board-members-walk-out/; https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/oshkosh-school-board-
postpones-meeting-on-covid-19-policies-after-protesters-refuse-to-wear-masks/ar-
AANKtZ8#image=AANKA9z|1
3
LEGAL CLAIMS
Legal Provisions Common to All Claims
20. “In recognition of the fact that a representative government of the American type
is dependent upon an informed electorate, it is declared to be the policy of this state that the
public is entitled to the fullest and most complete information regarding the affairs of
government as is compatible with the conduct of governmental business.” Wis. Stat. § 19.81(1).
21. “To implement and ensure the public policy herein expressed, all meetings of all
state and local governmental bodies shall be publicly held in places reasonably accessible to
members of the public and shall be open to all citizens at all times unless otherwise expressly
provided by law.” Wis. Stat. § 19.81(2).
22. The Open Meetings Law “shall be liberally construed to achieve the purposes set
forth in this section, and the rule that penal statutes must be strictly construed shall be limited to
the enforcement of forfeitures and shall not otherwise apply to actions brought under this
subchapter or to interpretations thereof.” Wis. Stat. § 19.81(3).
23. “‘Meeting’ means the convening of members of a governmental body for the
purpose of exercising the responsibilities, authority, power or duties delegated to or vested in the
body. If one-half or more of the members of a governmental body are present, the meeting is
rebuttably presumed to be for the purpose of exercising the responsibilities, authority, power or
duties delegated to or vested in the body. The term does not include any social or chance
gathering or conference which is not intended to avoid this subchapter . . . .” Wis. Stat. §
19.82(2).
24. Under Wis. Stat. § 19.83(1), “Every meeting of a governmental body shall be . . .
held in open session. At any meeting of a governmental body, all discussion shall be held and all
action of any kind, formal or informal, shall be initiated, deliberated upon and acted upon only in
open session except as provided in s. 19.85.”
4
25. “‘Open session’ means a meeting which is held in a place reasonably accessible to
members of the public and open to all citizens at all times.” Wis. Stat. § 19.82(3).
26. Under Wis. Stat. § 19.85(1), “Any meeting of a governmental body, upon motion
duly made and carried, may be convened in closed session under one or more of the exemptions
provided in this section.”
27. “No motion to convene in closed session may be adopted unless the chief
presiding officer announces to those present at the meeting at which such motion is made, the
nature of the business to be considered at such closed session, and the specific exemption or
exemptions under this subsection by which such closed session is claimed to be authorized.” Id.
28. “No business may be taken up at any closed session except that which relates to
matters contained in the chief presiding officer’s announcement of the closed session.” Id.
29. All exemptions to the requirement of holding meetings in open session must be
strictly construed. State ex rel. Citizens for Responsible Dev’t v. Milton, 2007 WI App 114, ¶¶6,
8, 13, 300 Wis. 2d 649, 731 N.W.2d 640.
First Claim – Violation of Wis. Stat. § 19.85(1);
Improper Procedure to Enter Closed Session;
August 25, 2021 Meeting
30. The Members’ gathering in the Superintendent’s office was a “meeting” under
Wis. Stat. § 19.82(2).
31. Although the exact content of their discussion in the Superintendent’s office is
unknown, there is no evidence that they discussed anything other than District business. Because
one-half of them or more were gathered together, they are presumed to have been meeting for
that purpose. Wis. Stat. § 19.82(2).
5
32. That meeting in the Superintendent’s office was not held in open session as
defined in Wis. Stat. § 19.82(3), because it was not held in a place reasonably accessible to the
public and open to the public at all times.
33. The Board did not convene its meeting in open session before going into closed
session.
34. The Board’s presiding officer did not “announce to those present . . . the nature of
the business to be considered at such closed session, and the specific exemption or exemptions
under this subsection by which such closed session is claimed to be authorized.” See Wis. Stat. §
19.85(1).
35. There was no “motion duly made and carried” by the Board to go into closed
session. See id.
36. Therefore, the Board held an illegal closed session in violation of the Open
Meetings Law.
Second Claim – Violation of Wis. Stat. § 19.83(1);
Improper Purpose of Closed Session
August 25, 2021 Meeting
37. The exact content of the discussion held during the Members’ 30-minute closed
session in the Superintendent’s office is unknown. However, given the context, it is likely the
Members discussed the mask mandate and/or whether the meeting should be held as planned or
postponed. Neither topic is a proper subject of a closed meeting under Wis. Stat. § 19.85(1).
38. None of the topics on the Board’s agenda for that meeting were proper subjects of
a closed meeting under Wis. Stat. § 19.85(1).
39. There was no judicial or quasi-judicial trial or hearing to discuss. See Wis. Stat. §
19.85(1)(a).
6
40. There was no consideration of employment matters related to a specific public
employee or person licensed by a board. See Wis. Stat. § 19.85(1)(b), (c).
41. There was no discussion of probation or parole or discussion of strategies for
crime detection or prevention. See Wis. Stat. § 19.85(1)(d).
42. There was no competitive or bargaining issue to discuss. See Wis. Stat. §
19.85(1)(e).
43. There was no sensitive personal information about a specific individual to be
discussed. See Wis. Stat. § 19.85(1)(f).
44. There was no ongoing or likely litigation that needed to be discussed with legal
counsel. See Wis. Stat. § 19.85(1)(g).
45. Nor was there a pending request for confidential advice from an ethics body. See
Wis. Stat. § 19.85(1)(h).
46. Furthermore, because no announcement of the purpose of the closed session was
made, no business of any kind was allowed to be discussed in closed session. Wis. Stat. §
19.85(1) (“No business may be taken up at any closed session except that which relates to
matters contained in the chief presiding officer’s announcement of the closed session.”).
47. Because the closed session was not held for a purpose permitted by an exception
in Wis. Stat. § 19.85(1), it was prohibited by Wis. Stat. § 19.83(1).
48. Therefore, the Board held an illegal closed session in violation of the Open
Meetings Law.
WHEREFORE, Complainant requests that the District Attorney of Winnebago County or
the Attorney General of the State of Wisconsin investigate the above allegations and issue
charges as appropriate under Wis. Stat. § 19.97(1) seeking a declaration that the Board violated
7
A
Board of Education Notice of Meeting & Agenda
BOARD OF EDUCATION REGULAR MEETING
LOCATION – Oshkosh Area School District Administration Office, 215 S. Eagle Street, Oshkosh
OASD School Board Meetings are recorded by Oshkosh Media. Meetings can be viewed on Spectrum Cable channel 10 & U-
verse channel 99 in the City of Oshkosh, or streaming live on OshkoshMedia.org and on the free Oshkosh Media channels on
Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV.
The public is encouraged to view the meeting via one of the Oshkosh Media’s channels described above.
Face coverings are required in all OASD buildings.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2021
6:00 P.M.
Upon request to the superintendent, submitted 24 hours in advance, the district shall make reasonable accommodation including the provision of informational
material in an alternative format for a disabled person to be able to attend this meeting.
If accommodations are required, please provide 24-hour notice by calling 424-0120.
❖ COMPLIANCE WITH OPEN MEETING LAW NOTIFICATION [§19.84(2) Wis. Stats.]
❖ ROLL CALL - Verification of Quorum
❖ PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
❖ BOARD/ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS
1. Board President’s Report
2. Superintendent’s Report
A. Superintendent’s Good News Report
B. Superintendent’s Calendar
3. District Administrators’ Supplemental Reports
A. COVID-19 Update (Written Report – Kaemmerer)
B. 66.0301 Tuition Agreements for Whatever It Takes (WIT) Program (Written -Pierron)
C. Listening Session Report from August 11, 2021 (Verbal - Gundlach)
4. Other Reports (Committee chairs will notify Board President if they have a report to give)
(NOTE: A total of 45 minutes during the meeting will be allotted for non-agenda and agenda related public forum. Each
speaker will be allowed up to two minutes to speak.)
❖ NON-AGENDA RELATED PUBLIC FORUM
❖ AGENDA RELATED PUBLIC FORUM
❖ CONSENT RESOLUTION AGENDA
For the consent agenda, the Board has been furnished with background material on each item or has discussed it at a
previous meeting. These will be acted upon with one vote without discussion. If a Board member wants to discuss any
item, it will be pulled out of the consent agenda and will be voted on separately.
The Board will consider approval of:
1. Minutes of July 14, 2021 – Executive Session of Special Board Meeting
2. Minutes of July 14, 2021 – Regular Board Meeting
3. Minutes of August 11, 2021 – Regular Board Meeting
4. Bills Payable
5. Personnel
A. Appointments, Temporary Appointments, Resignations, and Salaries
6. 2021-2022 Independent Hearing Officers for Expulsions
7. Revisions to Policy 0166 – Agenda
8. Revisions to Policy 0176 – Board Self-Evaluation
9. Revisions to Policy 1240 – Evaluation of the Superintendent
❖ INDIVIDUALLY CONSIDERED RESOLUTION(S)
10. Partially Self-Insured Health Plan Starting January 1, 2022
11. COVID-19 Handbook
❖ REQUEST FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
❖ ANNOUNCEMENTS
❖ ADJOURN
This meeting is a meeting of the Board of Education in public for the purpose of conducting the school district’s business and is not to be considered a public
community meeting. There is a time for public participation during the first and second regular Board meetings of the month as indicated in the agenda. Also, an
informal listening session with the Board and administrative representatives is held prior to the first regular Board meeting of the month.
