APRIL 6, 2016 - INTER-COUNTY LEADER - NEWS SECTION - A - PAGE 3
No link to school board’s censure of Kopecky Siren school open records request produces information mostly relating to his time as school district employee Gregg Westigard | Staff writer SIREN – The Leader has received a response to its open records request to the Siren School District relating to the school board’s actions on Feb. 10, asking for the resignation of board member Jim Kopecky and then censuring him. Jim Kopecky The response to that request, received on March 23, includes a large amount of information on Kopecky relating to his time as a Siren school teacher through May 2014 but no documents after April 24, 2015. But there is nothing in the records the Leader received that indicate why the school board called its special meeting and initiated its actions on Feb. 10. On Feb. 10, the school board held a special meeting and immediately went into closed session. When the board returned to open session, a motion was made asking board member Jim Kopecky to resign. After Kopecky said he would not resign, a second motion was made to censure Kopecky. Both motions were made by board member Mark Pettis and seconded by Duane Emery. Both motions carried by a vote of six to one, with Kopecky voting against each. Jim Kopecky was a Siren school teacher for 21 years. He retired as a teacher in an
agreement signed by him and the district in mid May 2014. Kopecky was elected to the Siren school board in April 2015.
The request and the documents received The Leader’s open records request asked for “any and all information on school board member James Kopecky, including information shared with the school board at its February open and closed session.” The Leader request was broad. The documents received included information from Kopecky’s personnel file. A board member indicated that the records the Leader received were not shared with the school board members at their Feb. 10 meeting. The Leader received 117 pages of documents. The cover letter from Stephen Weld, Weld Riley, the district’s counsel, said that certain personal identifying information was removed from the documents and that information regarding the negotiations leading to Kopecky’s retirement agreement were not included to protect the district’s negotiating strategy in future agreements. The documents relate to Kopecky’s time as a Siren school teacher. Several incidents of interaction with students are identified, some of which led to written reprimands. Kopecky filed grievances several times and the settlement of those grievances are presented in detail. The earliest situation was in May/June of 2004. The next issues were in 2009, the fall of 2010, the spring of 2011, the fall of 2012, and the spring of 2013. During that period Kopecky was dealing with district administrator Scott Johnson and school principals Jason Wilhelm, Joe Zirngibl and Peggy Ryan. There are documents written by Kopecky where he expresses criticism of Johnson and others. In one grievance, undated but apparently written May 2013, Kopecky says “this document will be one of many that will lead to Mr. Scott Johnson’s resignation or dis-
missal.” An incident arose in May 2014 that resulted in Kopecky leaving his teaching position. On April 29, Kopecky had received a preliminary notice of contract non-renewal. A document written by 7-12 Principal Sarah Johnson states that Kopecky approached a student and asked her to try and rally students to make a statement in support of him during the upcoming graduation ceremony. The conversation with Sarah Johnson took place on May 1. On May 4, administrator Scott Johnson placed Kopecky on immediate administrative leave, restricted him from all school activities, and directed him to have no contact with students until the matter was decided. The May 4 document cites “an attempt to manipulate students for your personal gain.” In addition Kopecky is “also charged with making disparaging comments toward school officials and unnecessarily attempting to politically influence a student.” On May 14 the district and Kopecky had agreed on the language of a retirement agreement. That six-page document, signed on May 19, states that the parties entered into the agreement in a mutual effort to avoid potential litigation. Kopecky was placed on unpaid suspension from May 8 through June 30, the end of the school year. He was not allowed to participate in or attend school events, enter school property or have any contact with district students or 2013-14 graduates. He agreed not to make negative or disparaging comments about the district, its personnel or the students. After that retirement agreement, the records request includes three sets of documents, an undated statement which starts “I have a personal agenda!,” some memos on a contact with district office staff on April 20 and 23, 2015, and the minutes of the Feb. 10 school board meeting.
School board president issues statement Becky Strabel | Staff writer SIREN - Siren School Board members Jim Kopecky, Mark Pettis, and Peggy Moore (president), were contacted after the Leader reviewed information the school district provided in response to the Leader’s open records request. Each were asked to identify the reason(s) for the Feb. 10 censuring and request for resignation. Kopecky couldn’t provide an answer, saying, “It is all tied up in closed session and I can’t take a chance in saying something that will be held against me.” Pettis referred the Leader to Moore,who had been in contact with the school’s legal representation. Moore issued the following statement: “Regarding your questions about the issues leading up to the board’s request for Mr. Kopecky to resign, I have consulted with the school’s attorney and have been told I can release the following statement: “‘Board members, acting as individuals, are not entitled to access anything any other elector may not access. A board member would have to file a request for records, such as the paper did, to access information. Mr. Kopecky demanded access to documents that he was not entitled to have and meetings he should not have attended. His actions caused staff members to feel harassed and threatened. Due to privacy issues, I have not seen the contents of the file that was released to you. However, I believe it may show a continuing pattern of behavior that began when Mr. Kopecky was an employee of the district.’” When asked to clarify meetings he should not have attended, Moore replied, “Individual board members are not to attend staff meetings unless directed by the board as a whole.” Moore said this week that a board cannot legally censure a board member for anything that happened prior to their time on the board.
Teen forced to drive on booze cruise Scared and from out of town, unlicensed child driver asks bartender for help Greg Marsten | Staff writer BALSAM LAKE – Police were called to a Balsam Lake bar over the weekend for a report that a 13-year-old Detroit girl, lost and behind the wheel, was forced to taxi her father’s passedout 35-year-old girlfriend from liquor store to various rural taverns, where the child finally sought help from a bartender. Charity Rogers, 35, Luck, is facing multiple charges, including felony Charity Rogers reckless endangerment, for the alleged incident, where she was reportedly so intoxicated, she almost passed out, leaving the teen lost and seeking help from a bartender, who called the police. According to the criminal complaint filed on Monday by the Polk County Dis-
Correction In the March 23 Leader story about charges of attempted homicide in Osceola, the story should have read that defendant Paul Krueger has two previous convictions, both misdemeanors and both in Burnett County: one in 2000 for battery and the other in 2002 for resisting arrest. The Leader regrets the error.
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Charity Rogers appeared in Polk County Circuit Court on Monday, April 4, facing charges of felony reckless endangerment, child neglect and contributing to the delinquency of a child for allegedly having a 13-year-old girl “practice drive” for her on a veritable tavern tour, of sorts. - Photo by Greg Marsten
trict Attorney’s Office, Rogers is accused of starting the day by taking her boyfriend’s 13-year-old unlicensed daughter out “practice driving,” which quickly turned into a sort of “booze cruise” for Rogers, which included a stop at a local convenience store, so she could buy alcohol, which she drank from while she had the child drive her to a tavern on Hwy. 8, where Rogers is accused of having two more Bloody Mary drinks, then nearly passing out in the car seat, leaving the unlicensed teen lost and driving west on a state highway. The complaint narrative notes how the child told police that she “drove a long way in one direction” with Rogers passed out and mumbling in the passenger seat. That was when the teen decided to turn off the road they were on, ending up at a Balsam Lake tavern, where Rogers tried to buy another drink, but was refused for being too intoxicated. That was when the unlicensed teen sought help from the bartender, who called police. When police arrived on the scene, they found Rogers behind the wheel of a car in the Thirsty Otter tavern parking lot at around noon on Saturday, April 2. She was reportedly too intoxicated to communicate with Polk County Sheriff’s deputies, who is quoted in the complaint as saying the unlicensed teen was “scared,
upset and had no idea where she was or how to get back to her father.” Rogers was taken to a local hospital, due to her level of intoxication, and she did have a preliminary breath test of .295-percent blood alcohol concentration, almost four times the of state .08-percent BAC legal threshold. “That (PBT) reading was also with a light breath,” Polk County Sheriff Peter Johnson confirmed. Rogers made an initial appearance in Polk County Circuit Court on Monday, April 4, where she faces charges of felony second-degree reckless endangerment on top of two misdemeanor charges of contributing to the delinquency of a child and child neglect. Rogers is facing over 11 years in prison, and/or $45,000 in fines if convicted on all three counts. Judge Molly GaleWyrick set her bond at $10,000, with a June 26 preliminary hearing, where the judge will determine if there is sufficient evidence to bind her over for trial. To be released, Rogers must maintain absolute sobriety and cannot have any contact with the child. Court records indicate that Rogers has at least two prior convictions for driving while intoxicated. She remains in custody at press time.
FIRST READ MADISON – On March 24, the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Criminal Information Bureau’s Firearms Unit issued the 300,000th concealed carry permit since the program’s inception in 2011. Handgun Hotline checks and concealed carry applications have been at record high levels in recent months and interest in firearm ownership shows no signs of subsiding. Since January 1, 2016, the Wisconsin DOJ Criminal Information Bureau processed 19,515 concealed carry applications and the Handgun Hotline completed 46,658 background checks, which is required for the transfer of a handgun from a firearms dealer in our state. By comparison, for the entire calendar year 2015, the Firearms Unit processed 45,549 concealed carry applications and handled 131,648 requests for Handgun Hotline background checks. Data collected by Wisconsin DOJ also shows that from the period 2001-2005 to the period 2011-2015, the total number of Handgun Hotline checks increased from 162,208 to 599,141, a 369-percent increase over the 10-year period. “The dedicated professionals at the Department of Justice have provided a safe, secure and efficient process for the issuance of concealed carry permits since 2011. Act 35 went into effect on November 1, 2011,” said Attorney General Brad Schimel. “Wisconsin has always had a rich tradition of firearms ownership, and I am proud to lead the agency that ensures law-abiding citizens can exercise their rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment.” To learn more on how to apply for a concealed weapon license, please visit doj.state.wi.us. - from DOJ