- A complaint , alleging violations of Open Meetings Laws, was filed with the District Attorney against school board members Jim Carrel, John Whalen, and Mary Ellen Havel-Lang back in early June.
- The District Attorney began reviewing the issue and requested formal response from the School District records custodian, Tim Culver.
- The matter remains open.
District resident Roger Fetterly has monitored the costs incurred for legal expenses. At the October 22nd School Board meeting, he noted that --based on open records requests--the School District has racked up over $14,000 in legal fees, including 27 separate billings related to preparing responses for the school board members named in the violation of Open Meetings law complaint.
Fetterly also correctly notes that these same school board members who serve to benefit from this legal aid provided at tax payer expense have voted to approve the very checks used to pay for their legal defense! That seems to be a question of ethics.
Why is the District automatically paying for the defense of 3 school board members who should know their responsibilities as elected officials?
Section 895.35 of Wisconsin Statutes specifies that
(1) Whenever in any city, town, village, school district, technical college district or county charges of any kind are filed or an action is brought against any officer thereof in the officer’s official capacity, or to subject any such officer, whether or not the officer is being compensated on a salary basis, to a personal liability growing out of the performance of official duties, and such charges or such action is discontinued or dismissed or such matter is determined favorably to such officer, or such officer is reinstated, or in case such officer, without fault on the officer’s part, is subjected to a personal liability as aforesaid, such city, town, village, school district, technical college district or county may pay all reasonable expenses which such officer necessarily expended by reason thereof.
http://www.legis.state.wi.us/statutes/Stat0895.pdf
Why has the school district jumped the gun and paid for all these expenses before a decision has even been rendered?
Why are school board members voting to approve of checks to pay for services from which they will directly benefit?
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