(Image provided by the Oshkosh Area School District)
The Oshkosh School Board is accused of violating state open meetings records. The Wisconsin Transparency Project files a formal complaint with Winnebago County District Attorney Christian Gossett alleging the board’s handling of disruptions at their August 25th meeting were illegal. Board members left the board room due to protesters not wearing masks—met behind closed doors in the Superintendent’s office—and voted to cancel the meeting before leaving. Transparency Project President Tom Kamenick spoke with Josh Dukelow on Fresh Take about the alleged violations last month.
“They did not use the proper procedure to go into closed session, in the first place,” Kamenick said. “There’s supposed to be a reading of the statutory exemption. Then an explanation as to why they’re going into closed session. Then a roll call vote that must carry by a majority vote to do so.”
Kamenick adds that the Oshkosh School Board also failed to cite specific state statutes that allowed them to meet in closed session—and that going into the Superintendent’s office was not publicly noticed as a meeting location. District officials have no comment on the complaint.
