OSINGA LAW OFFICES, S.C. Osinga Law Offi fices is is pleased to have the opportunity to provide both the educational community and the general public wit ith presentations on is issues rela lated to Wis isconsin public schools. This presentation on open records combined wit ith the problem of f student bullying enforcement is is in intended to generate public dis iscussion that is is tied to real lif life fact sit ituations. This process of f in informed and rational public dis iscussion goes to the heart of f r representative government and may help trigg igger im improvements in in public policy and government performance.
Attorney John D. Osin inga These presentations have been compiled by Attorney John D. Osinga from Osinga Law Offices in Brookfield, Wisconsin. Attorney Osinga is a graduate of UW-Madison Law School and has practiced law both in the public and private sectors. Attorney Osinga is a former three term District Attorney. In that capacity he had occasion to handle numerous criminal and child protection prosecutions involving child abuse and neglect. Attorney Osinga is also a former county legal counsel : He advised the county board and county agencies on various legal issues including those involving public record requests. Attorney Osinga has been in private practice since 1987. He currently handles estate planning, probate, personal injury and open records matters.
ARE PUBLIC SCHOOLS PUBLIC? One of the strengths of Wisconsin’s public school system should be the fact that it is public . Transparency and accountability should be an integral part of what it means to be a public school. Public schools are controlled neither by a for profit business nor by a private entity such as a church. When properly administered one would expect that public schools would be open and responsive to constructive input from the families and communities they serve. The presentations that follow will unfortunately illustrate how some public schools can become the home of educational bureaucrats who appear to function with little accountability. This lack of accountability can result in growing dysfunction that may interfere with not only the education but even the personal safety of students. As school district employees, teachers can likewise experience the fallout from this form of dysfunction in the school workplace. Teachers can become frustrated with their particular school or school district or even with teaching in general. Part of the answer to these problems may lie in the use of legal tools like Wisconsin’s open records law. A persistent use of tools such as the open records law can help ferret out dysfunction in public schools, frustrate efforts to keep it hidden and make the dysfunction known to the public.
The two subject areas addressed in these presentations bear similarities and involve many of the same individuals and will even refer to some of the same documents. It may thus be beneficial to view both in the sequence below. The content of the presentations comes largely from seminar power point presentations. The presentations have been organized as follows in order to break them down into smaller parts and allow for the reader an opportunity to digest the information and consider the particular issues that they raise: #1 OPEN RECORDS AND BULLYING The Policies – What Was Intended Presentation A The Reality – What Happened Part 1 Presentation B-1 The Reality – What Happened Part 2 Presentation B-2 Déjà vu And Sleeping Watchdogs Presentation B -3 #2 MERIT PAY OR “PAY FOR PERFORMANCE” The Policy – What Was Intended Presentation A The Reality – What Happened Part 1 Presentation B-1 The Reality – What Happened Part 2 Presentation B-2
PRESENTATION A: The poli licies The starting point for this part of the presentation is the content of the public policies adopted by local and state governments. In a government of laws the policies and statutes are intended to be the guides to the conduct of both public officials and the public generally.
The Open Records Case Against the Wauwatosa School Dis istrict At the center of this first presentation is an open records case brought against the Wauwatosa School District. Much of what is discussed in this presentation started with this litigation and the open records requests that preceded it.
Circuit Court Findings The District violated Wisconsin’s Public Records law due to the following: # 1: Withholding five public record requests made back in 2013 by John Osinga. Requests for copies of all open record requests made to the district between May 2013 and May, 2014 had been made in 2014. In addition, bullying related documents had been requested on multiple occasions thereafter. # 2: Withholding a copy of the December 16, 2014 bullying complaint by Whitman parents against a principal, vice-principal and coach. #3: Withholding the Buehl and Erenberger letters of recommendation #4: Withholding Attorney Kraig’s report on student bullying at Washington Elementary # 5: The court also found it could not, as a practical matter, order the district to furnish a copy of the “bullying timeline” because the district stated that it no longer had it. The “bullying timeline” had been given to the district’s central office in June, 2013. The administrators could not explain why the district no longer had it but from their statements it would be reasonably inferred that the district lost or destroyed it.
The prim imary ry focus wil ill l be on t the foll llowing the trail of f 4 sets of f documents: Although the court case addressed other documents this presentation will primarily focus on the following 4 sets of public records: #1 The Bullying Timeline reflecting a series of bullying conduct and subsequent inaction by school administrators #2 The first set of 5 Open Record Requests made to the Wauwatosa School District in 2013 #3 The 2013 Washington Elementary School bullying investigation by Attorney Lindsay Kraig #4 A 2014 Parent Complaint about bullying engaged in by coaches and administrators With each of these 4 sets of documents carefully follow each of these factors: a. The content of document itself b. The manner in which administrators responded (or not) to the issues raised in the document c. The handling and/or retention of physical document itself d. The type of response received when the document was requested in an open records request
General Overview 1. General Context: This will start with a discussion of the Wisconsin open records statute and the Wauwatosa school district policies and particularly its bullying policy 2. 2003 – 2012: There was an ongoing problem with a teacher bullying students at Whitman Middle school 3. 2013: A problem with student on student bullying issues at Washington Elementary school goes public after parents complain. The teacher on student bullying continues at Whitman Middle School. The school district receives a series of five open record requests from Attorney John Osinga in June and July relating primarily to school district records concerning student bullying incidents. 4. May 2014 – May 2015: A series of open record requests are made to the Wauwatosa school district but with the requester, Attorney Osinga, remaining anonymous. Attorney Osinga used a local law firm to make the requests on his behalf. 5. June 2015 to August 2016: A petition filed is filed in Milwaukee County Circuit Court for a Writ of Mandamus alleging violations of Wisconsin’s open records law by the Wauwatosa School District. Sworn deposition testimony is taken of school district administrators and additional records are requested.
Persons Who Will Be Referred To • Philip Ertl, Superintendent of the Wauwatosa Public Schools • Jeff Keranen, Principal of Whitman Middle School • John Kellermann, Associate Principal, Whitman Middle School • Dan Chanen, former H.R. Director for Wauwatosa Public Schools and now employed with Milwaukee Public Schools • Lyda Osinga, former orchestra teacher at Whitman Middle School, Wauwatosa West high school and various district elementary schools in the Wauwatosa Public Schools
To the fullest extent possible the remainder of the presentation is based almost entirely on documents from the public record together with transcripts and video clips of sworn testimony by school district employees. Occasional editorial comment is included which can be considered for what it’s worth to summarize or clarify the information presented.
Recommend
More recommend
