PDF-Thomas Woznicki vs. Dennis Erickson (Wisconsin Supreme Court Ruling)

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. 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. Items 1 and 3 on the first page indicate that Thomas Woznicki was asked to leave the Boscobel, Wisconsin school district. Pay close attention to Item 7 on the third page. “Exhibit A” refers to the letter on the last page. 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 photograph of Thomas Woznicki was taken during the 1980s. Thomas Woznicki has been employed with several school districts in Wisconsin as a teacher and, more recently, as the Superintendent of the Florence County and Boscobel school districts in Wisconsin. This document contains School Board Minutes obtained from the Florence County, Wisconsin school district. Note the “Closed Session” Minutes for the School Board meeting held on April 22, 2013, on the third page. 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.” The Documents Subpoena pertains to Thomas Woznicki, a former teacher at the New Richmond, Wisconsin school district. The letter on the first page indicates that the subpoena was filed in St. Croix County, Wisconsin. This document contains a Criminal Complaint and Summons pertaining to Thomas Woznicki, a former teacher at the New Richmond, Wisconsin school district. The document indicates that the case was filed in St. Croix County, Wisconsin. This document contains selected portions of Thomas Woznicki’s personnel file obtained from the New Richmond, Wisconsin school district. The complete file is more than two hundred pages in length and may be obtained from the school district upon request. The release of the complete file was disputed in the Wisconsin Supreme Court case of Thomas Woznicki v. Dennis Erickson. The Woznicki v. Erickson ruling established the “Woznicki Rule” precedent, which gives public employees in Wisconsin the right to challenge the release of certain public records after receiving a “Woznicki Notice.” The more recent case of Thomas Woznicki v. Jeff Moberg also pertained to Thomas Woznicki’s personnel records from 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 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 in the case of Thomas Woznicki vs. Dennis Erickson was filed with the Wisconsin Supreme Court on September 15, 1995. The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling in the case of Woznicki v. Erickson established the “Woznicki Notice” precedent, which gives public employees in Wisconsin the right to challenge the release of certain public records. 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. Tom Suchomel Woznicki has been employed as an Educator with several school districts in Wisconsin. Tom S Woznicki has served as the Superintendent of the Florence County, Wisconsin school district and the Boscobel, Wisconsin school district. Tom Woznicki was previously a teacher at the New Richmond, Wisconsin school district and the Manitowoc, Wisconsin school district. It is unclear whether Tom Woznicki, EdS is currently employed as an Educator with any specific school district. In addition, it is not clear whether Tom Suchomel Woznicki has profiles or pages on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and/or other websites.