A settlement has been reached in a dispute over the state’s open meetings law between Milwaukee TV station WTMJ-4 and the St. Francis School District.
The settlement was covered in a July 19 story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. According to the story:
The district admitted that its actions did not align with the law and has committed to ensuring it complies in the future. WTMJ filed a complaint against the school district in June after a reporter and photographer were not al- lowed to attend and film a school board meeting.
The St. Francis School District said going forward, it will unlock doors 15 minutes before public meetings, allow public attendance and recording during open sessions and will conduct training on the open meetings law and review its policies, according to a July 15 news release.
A district press release was part of seven pages of documents that included the settlement agreement itself, a letter from Milwaukee County’s Office of Corporation Counsel and an email from the Wisconsin Department of Justice. Both the letter and email said they would not take action against the school district.
The district said it “remains dedicated” to serving its community “with integrity” and welcomes the public’s participation at school board meetings.
In an emailed statement, WTMJ station manager Gregg Schraufnagel said the station is pleased with the settlement. He said the station hopes the agreement’s terms will ensure compliance with state open meetings law going forward. He said the station’s ability to provide local journalism and information to the community is weakened when it is denied access to meetings, which in turn denies the community access to information.
Attorney Tom Kamenick filed a complaint on behalf of WTMJ after a June incident in which WTMJ reporter Megan Lee and her photographer, Dan Selan, went to St. Francis High School to attend a St. Francis School Board meeting. They had to wait because the meeting was in closed session.
Lee and Salan told District Superintendent Deb Kerr they wanted to film the meeting to see if anyone spoke about a St. Francis baseball coach who had recently been arrested and relieved of his coaching duties, the complaint said. Kerr said the topic was a family and personnel matter and refused to allow recording. After Lee pushed back, asserting the right under state open meetings law to record the open session, Kerr left to consult Rob Buikema, the school district’s attorney. Lee and Salan turned their camera on after speaking with their assignment editor and waited for Kerr to return. When Kerr returned, she said Lee and Salan could not film the meeting because they did not provide advance notice or tell the district why they were there.
The two journalists left after Kerr threatened to have them arrested. The two eventually returned, but by that time, the meeting’s public comment portion had already ended, the complaint said.
Later that night, Kerr emailed Lee, saying Lee and Selan’s request to film public comments related to the for- mer coach without advance notice violated school board policy, the complaint said. Kerr requested Lee contact her at least two hours before filming any meeting.
The settlement agreement said no current or former school board member will be fined and releases the district, its officials and board members from liability. The agreement also spells out the district will complete a one-hour training and that the board will review its policies on open meetings and public comment, both led by legal counsel not involved in the advice rendered June 2. Both those actions should take place at a public meeting in open session within 60 days.
The agreement also says the board will not prohibit the public, including the media, from attending open sessions of public meetings. Recording, filming and photographing meetings is allowed as long as such conduct does not interfere with the meetings or their participants, the agreement said.
In a letter to Kamenick on June 25, Milwaukee County Corporation Counsel Scott Brown said the settlement “represents an appropriate resolution to Ms. Lee’s concerns.”
The Wisconsin Department of Justice did not specify in its email to St. Francis School Board members its reasons for not taking action. However, the department cited state law allowing public access to meetings of governmental bodies, a right to take notes and to record, film or photograph meetings as long as those actions do not disrupt the meeting or the people participating in the meeting. It also invited board members to contact the department if it had questions about open meetings law.
