Open Records Request (January 9, 2016)

Karen,

I apologize as this email was in my spam folder. I have received your
records request and will get this information to you.

Thank you,

*Patrick B. Olson*
District Administrator
New Richmond School District
Office: 715.243.7413
polson@newrichmond.k12.wi.us

[image: School District of New Richmond]

Dear Ms. Smith,

Your records requests were initially sent to my e-mail spam box, so I did
not receive them until very recently. I am writing in response to your
requests for the following:

“A copy of the letter from the New Richmond School District to Thomas
Woznicki dated July 1, 2015. The letter detailed the contents of Thomas
Woznicki’s personnel file and provided an opportunity for Mr. Woznicki to
review a redacted copy of the personnel file. Please provide a complete
copy of the letter from the District to Thomas Woznicki dated July 1, 2015.
With regard to the delivery of the requested letter, my preference would be
to receive a scanned copy of the letter via email. I understand the letter
described above to be part of a public court file, so I believe the letter
is publicly available despite the ongoing litigation related to the actual
personnel file (which I previously requested on December 5, 2015).”

The District is not able to release a copy of the July 1, 2015, letter at
this time. Currently, one issue in the present litigation, Woznicki v.
Moberg, Wisconsin Court of Appeals Case No. 15AP1883, is whether all of the
contents of Mr. Woznicki’s personnel file are subject to disclosure under
the Wisconsin Open Records Law. Because this letter is part of Mr.
Woznicki’s personnel file, we cannot provide it until the Court of Appeals
issues its decision and the deadline for appeal of that decision has
passed.

Additionally, the letter makes specific references to matters contained in
Mr. Woznicki’s personnel file that constitute “records containing
information relating to an employee that is created or kept by the
authority and that is the result of an investigation into a disciplinary
matter involving the employee or possible employment-related violation by
the employee of a statute, ordinance, rule, regulation, or policy of the
employee’s employer.” See Wis. Stat. § 19.356(2)(a)1. The referenced
records are currently the primary subject of the dispute in Woznicki v.
Moberg. Given that Mr. Woznicki has commenced an action under Wisconsin
Statutes Section 19.356(4), the District is prohibited from providing
access to the requested records during pendency of the action. Wis. Stat.
§ 19.356(5). Thus, the District cannot provide a document that is not only
part of the personnel file at issue before the Court of Appeals but also
specifically references the records which are the primary subject of the
dispute under the Wisconsin Open Records law.

Once the Court of Appeals rules on this matter and the time for appeal has
passed, the District will notify you whether it may provide access to the
July 1, 2015 letter, and if so, whether any redactions may be required.
See, e.g., Wis. Stat. §§ 19.36(10)(a); 19.36(13); 146.82; and 118.125; 20
U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 C.F.R. § 99.31; and the attorney-client privilege and/or
work product doctrine.

In the meantime, if you have any further questions or concerns, please
direct those to the District’s attorney, Trevor Helmers, at trevor.helmers@
raswlaw.com.

Respectfully,

*Patrick B. Olson*
District Administrator
New Richmond School District
Office: 715.243.7413
polson@newrichmond.k12.wi.us

[image: School District of New Richmond]