Christopher
P. Banaszak, Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren
Direct Dial: 414-298-8320
Manitowoc County Special Prosecutor
1010 South Eighth Street
Manitowoc, WI 54220-5398
Dear Mr. Jones: Re: Mandamus Action
I am writing on behalf of my client, Ronald Kossik, to request that you bring a mandamus action against the Manitowoc Public School District ("School District") pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 19.37(1)(b) to obtain copies of the following public records:
Any minutes for closed meetings of the Manitowoc School Board from January 1, 2002 to October 10, 2002 relating to collective bargaining with the Manitowoc Education Association.
On October 11, 2002, Mr. Kossik made a written request to the School District for the records described above. In a letter dated October 17, 2002, the School District denied Mr. Kossik access to any of the documents he requested, including records that contain information the School District made available to the public through other sources, e.g., the School Board’s decision to impose a QEO. A copy of Mr. Kossik’s request and the School District’s response are enclosed for your review.
The primary reason given by the School District in its October 17 letter for denying Mr. Kossik's request was that the School District wanted to maintain the confidentiality of its "bargaining strategy." Because the School District has now reached a collective bargaining agreement with the Manitowoc Education Association (“MEA”), that reason is no longer valid.
The School District also claimed that there were “bargaining reasons” for maintaining the confidentiality of the records even after it reached an agreement because it will be engaged in collective bargaining with the MEA for the 2003-2005 time period. Under the School District’s reasoning, it could continue to maintain forever the confidentiality of the requested records because it will always have subsequent bargaining sessions. The School District’s analysis is flawed and inconsistent with the policy of the Wisconsin Open Records Law that “all persons are entitled to the greatest possible information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of those officers and employees who represent them.” Wis. Stat. § 19.31.
The School District further indicates that the MEA does not publicly disclose its negotiating procedures and decisions as an additional basis for its denial of Mr. Kossik’s request. This assertion misses the point. The MEA is not a government body subject to Wisconsin's Open Records Law. The School District is a government body subject to the Open Records Law. Therefore, the School District has an obligation to make its records available to the public pursuant to the Wisconsin Open Records Law.
Presumably relying on Wis. Stat. § 19.82(1), the School District further states that “the process of collective bargaining is not subject to the Wisconsin Open Meetings Statute.” Even assuming that statement is true, nowhere does Wis. Stat. § 19.82(1) create an exception to the Wisconsin Open Records Law. The records from such meetings remain subject to disclosure under the Open Records Law. Consequently, even if the meetings themselves were not open, the School District must provide “specific and sufficient public policy reasons why public interest in nondisclosure outweighed public’s right of inspection.” Oshkosh Northwestern Co. v. Oshkosh Library Board, 125 Wis. 2d 480, 373 N.W.2d 373 (Ct. App. 1985); Wis. Stat. § 19.35(1)(a). Here, the School District has failed to provide specific and sufficient reasons for its refusal to disclose the records Mr. Kossik requested.
Finally, the School District asserts that disclosure of the records would interfere with personnel administration. Beyond these conclusory statements, the School District does not describe how disclosure of the requested records would interfere with its ability to administer its workforce. As described in the preceding paragraph, the School District must provide “specific and sufficient” reasons for its refusal to disclose its records. Its conclusory statement regarding interference with the supervision and management of its workforce does not satisfy that standard.
* * *
In a letter dated October 17, 2002, Manitowoc District Attorney E. James Fitzgerald opined that the School District gave valid reasons for refusing to disclose the minutes from its closed session meetings as of September 23, 2002. Nevertheless, he stated that he did "not make any findings that the reasons given by MPSB in the past for not disclosing the records remain valid" given that the School District and the MEA concluded their negotiations at the time of his October 17 letter. Because negotiations on the collective bargaining agreement have concluded, the reasons given by the School District in the past for refusing to disclose the records related to their closed meetings are no longer valid. There are no longer competitive or bargaining reasons that justify the continued non-disclosure of these records. Therefore, Mr. Kossik requests that you bring a mandamus action pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 19.37(1)(b) to obtain the disclosure of these records. Please contact me if you have any questions.
Christopher P. Banaszak
Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren
Enc.
cc Mr. Paul C. Hemmer (w/enc.)
Paul C. Hemmer, Esq.
Davis & Kuelthau SC
605 North Eighth Street
Suite 610
Sheboygan, WI 53081-4525