PDF-Thomas Woznicki vs. Brian Johnston (New Richmond, Wisconsin)

This is the Summons and Complaint from a lawsuit that Thomas Woznicki filed in 2011 seeking to prevent the release of his personnel records maintained by the New Richmond Wisconsin school district. Thomas Woznicki was charged with six counts of “Sex with Child Age 16 or Older” in 1994, while he was employed with the New Richmond, Wisconsin school district. The criminal charges were ultimately dismissed. Thomas Woznicki is involved in litigation seeking to prevent the New Richmond, Wisconsin school district from releasing his personnel file. This document was filed with the Wisconsin Court of Appeals on December 30, 2015. This is a 1996 Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling pertaining to a former New Richmond High School teacher named Thomas Woznicki who successfully fought to prevent the release of his personnel and telephone records. The ruling established the “Woznicki Notice” precedent, which gives public employees in Wisconsin the right to challenge the release of certain public records. The letter on the first page is called a “Woznicki Notice” and was sent to Thomas Woznicki on July 12, 2011. Thomas Woznicki subsequently invoked the “Woznicki Rule,” seeking to prevent the New Richmond, Wisconsin school district from releasing his personnel records. This document contains the full text of 2003 Wisconsin Act 47, which is sometimes called the “Woznicki Fix.” Act 47 addressed certain issues related to the “Woznicki Rule” that was established as a result of the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s 1996 ruling in the case of Thomas Woznicki vs. Dennis Erickson. Specifically, the “Woznicki Fix” clarified who was required to receive a “Woznicki Notice” and specified a timeframe during which a public employee could challenge the release of records under the “Woznicki Rule.” This Decision, filed with the Wisconsin Court of Appeals on October 4, 2016, concludes as follows: “We conclude that Woznicki has failed to demonstrate that a public interest in nondisclosure of his District personnel file outweighs the strong and presumptive public interest in access to, and disclosure of, his personnel file under Wisconsin’s open records law. We therefore affirm the order denying Woznicki’s request for an injunction. By the Court.—Order affirmed.” This document contains records pertaining to Thomas Woznicki, a former teacher at the New Richmond, Wisconsin school district. Note “Finding of Fact I” at the bottom of the first page, along with the Conclusions and Order on the second page. This document contains correspondence related to a request apparently made by Thomas Woznicki, a teacher at New Richmond High School in Wisconsin, for a “personal illness day” to attend a dental appointment in Appleton (approximately 250 miles from New Richmond) for a “chipped tooth.” The document includes two letters signed by the Executive Director of the West Central Education Association. This document contains a License Review Referral submitted to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) Bureau for Teacher Education, Licensing, and Placement during April of 1994. The referral pertained to Thomas Woznicki, a teacher at New Richmond High School, and was filed by the Superintendent of the New Richmond, Wisconsin school district. This document appears to indicate that Thomas Woznicki was asked to leave the New Richmond (pages 23-28), Florence County (pages 57-59), and Boscobel (pages 64-69) school districts in Wisconsin. The contents of the document span a timeframe of approximately two decades (20 years). The New Richmond, Wisconsin school district filed a License Review Referral with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) Bureau for Teacher Education, Licensing, and Placement during April of 1994 (page 13). Twenty years later (April 2014), Thomas Woznicki was apparently still employed in Wisconsin’s public school system as the Superintendent of the Boscobel, Wisconsin school district. It is unclear what actions, if any, the Wisconsin DPI licensing bureau has taken related to the apparent decisions made by the three aforementioned school districts. This document contains a brief email exchange between Thomas Woznicki and Brian Johnston, Business Manager at the New Richmond, Wisconsin school district. The email exchange occurred while Mr. Woznicki was the Superintendent of the Boscobel, Wisconsin school district. Note the reason for the address verification specified by Mr. Johnston in the first email, which appears to reference the “Woznicki Rule” notification requirement applicable to public records requests in Wisconsin. This document appears to indicate that Thomas Woznicki was asked to leave the New Richmond (pages 23-28), Florence County (pages 59-61), and Boscobel (pages 67-72) school districts in Wisconsin. The contents of the document span a timeframe of approximately two decades (20 years). The New Richmond, Wisconsin school district filed a License Review Referral with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) Bureau for Teacher Education, Licensing, and Placement during April of 1994 (page 13). Twenty years later (April 2014), Thomas Woznicki was apparently still employed in Wisconsin’s public school system as the Superintendent of the Boscobel, Wisconsin school district. It is unclear what actions, if any, the Wisconsin DPI licensing bureau has taken related to the apparent decisions made by the three aforementioned school districts. This document appears to contain a list of fifteen “admissions made by Woznicki” from some form of “grievance arbitration” associated with Thomas Woznicki and the New Richmond, Wisconsin school district. Note Admissions 5 and 9 on the second page, along with Admissions 14 and 15 on the third page. Consider the implications of Admission 15, which states, “At least one other female student, his current fiancée, came to his home while she was one of Woznicki’s students.” Since the document refers to the fifteen numbered items as “admissions made by Woznicki,” it appears that Thomas Woznicki may have acknowledged the validity of these statements. This document appears to contain selected portions of the “audio transcription” from some type of “formal hearing” associated with the case of Thomas Woznicki vs. Northern Ozaukee School District, including selected portions of Thomas Woznicki’s testimony (pages 30-46). The text on page 30 appears to suggest that Mr. Woznicki’s statements during the hearing were made under oath. He apparently agreed to tell “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth” during the hearing. Note the testimony regarding Thomas Woznicki’s middle name change on pages 7-9, 24-26, 31-33, and 36-37. Also note Mr. Woznicki’s testimony on pages 40-46, which appears to include references to litigation associated with his personnel file from the New Richmond, Wisconsin school district. Pages 12 and 35 appear to contain testimony regarding Thomas Woznicki’s marriage.