(The Center Square) – A southeastern Wisconsin school district reached a settlement in an open meetings lawsuit, admitting board members held a late 2022 retreat for three to four hours at the board president’s home where decisions were made on district business, board goals and the search for a permanent superintendent in violation of open meetings law.
All but one Raymond County School District Board of Education members attended the meeting and the lawsuit, fought by the Wisconsin Transparency Project on behalf of parent Mitchell Berman, showed board members later discussed the retreat via email and acknowledged the decisions that were made.
“The resolution of this case reminds us all of the indispensable role that community members play in holding our elected officials accountable,” Berman said in a statement. “As stakeholders in our children’s future and as taxpayers, we must continue to insist on transparency and integrity from our local officials.”
The board acknowledged the retreat was held in violation of open meetings law and agreed to post all board meeting agendas and minutes on its website, not hold public meetings outside a public building barring an emergency, complete open meetings law training and pay $9,300 for Berman’s attorney and court fees in the settlement, which will be publicized by the district through its Skyward messaging service.
“Public meetings need to be held in public spaces,” said Tom Kamenick, president and founder of the Wisconsin Transparency Project, which represents Berman. “Public notice must be provided, and the public must be permitted to attend.”
The retreat was allegedly held at board member Audrey Kostuch’s home, according to the lawsuit. A follow-up retreat was scheduled on Aug. 2, 2023, and public notice was given but that retreat was canceled when it became clear that members of the public intended to attend the retreat.
“The Board’s illegal December 2022 ‘Retreat’ was not merely a slip-up; it was a testament to the depths of their dishonesty and manipulation,” Berman said. “The Board has gone to great lengths to distort the truth and fabricate misleading narratives, in an attempt to silence concerned community members—individuals like myself, a local taxpayer and a father advocating for his children’s education. This behavior reveals a shocking disdain for the very principles that should underpin our public institutions: transparency, integrity, and accountability.”
The board decided to make the superintendent position part time and supported retaining then-interim Superintendent Michael Garvey, who was at the retreat, rather than hiring an independent firm to conduct a new search, according to the lawsuit.
The board allegedly discussed whether or not to hire an outside search firm for a new superintendent at a cost of $10,000 at the retreat.
“Garvey claimed that a retreat like this is ‘not the public’s meeting,’” which couldn’t be farther from the truth,” Kamenick said when the lawsuit was filed. “All school board meetings are the public’s meetings, and we have the right to know about them and attend them.”