MMSD spokesperson sues district to try to block documents requested by NBC15 Investigates

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - The Madison Metropolitan School District is being sued by one of its own. MMSD Head of Communications Tim LeMonds does not want two documents from an NBC15 Investigates’ open records request released - and he is taking his bosses to court to stop it.

On Friday, LeMonds filed a preliminary injunction motion against MMSD, urging a Dane County judge to conduct an expedited review of the documents in question, two emails he does not want the public to see.

LeMonds’ lawyers argue that what is in those emails would likely be bad for his repution. Their release would lead to “unwarranted, unfair and irreversible public ridicule and gossip, negative public perception, and jeopardize his ability to credibly perform his duties (with MMSD).”

As such, LeMonds wants Judge Rhonda Lanford to review the case behind closed doors. In his court filing, he claims the district has already gone along with the plan.

LeMonds is being represented by the law firm Fox & Fox, S.C., in Monona. The case could end up cost tens of thousands of dollars. NBC15 Investigates reached out for comment from LeMonds’ lawyers.

Dear Ms. Wadas:

Thank you for reaching out to our firm.

Unfortunately, however, I am not able to comment on pending litigation.

Best,

Randall B. Gold

The court documents show LeMonds is trying to block two documents: a cover page email and a 14-page complaint filled with personal grievances and accusations against LeMonds by several current and former MMSD employees. In the lawsuit, LeMonds repeatedly described some of the former employees as “disgruntled.” Their complaint was investigated by MMSD’s legal and human resources departments and included 11 separate interviews and a review of documents and recordings, before it was dismissed by the district in December 2022 as being without merit, according to LeMonds’ court filing.

When it comes to whether the law requires MMSD to release the documents, the district’s legal team already determined they must. Their reasoning was based on the fact those documents were found to be part of an open records request filed by the NBC15 News’ Investigative Team. After ongoing issues with the district’s lack of transparency and extreme open records delays, I filed an open records request for staff emails containing my name and NBC15. The request was filed on Dec. 19, 2022, and covered the previous year.

Hello,

Under Wisconsin’s open record statute, I am requesting all emails sent and received by any and all district employees that contain the following : “Elizabeth Wadas” “Wadas” “NBC15 reporter” “WMTV reporter” in the timeframe of December 19, 2021-December 19, 2022.

I would like my response emailed to Elizabeth.wadas@nbc15.com and to news@nbc15.com .

If you have any questions about my request, please email me here.

Thanks,

Elizabeth Wadas

On March 3, MMSD’s records department responded with an email confirming they had documents responsive to the request, and, after a certain amount of time, they would release the records “without delay.”

From: Public Records MMSD

Sent: Friday, March 03, 2023 9:09 AM

To: Elizabeth Wadas

Subject: Re: NBC15 open records request

Ms. Wadas -

MMSD received your request on December 19, 2022 for “emails sent and received by any and all district employees that contain the following : “Elizabeth Wadas” “Wadas” “NBC15 reporter” “WMTV reporter” in the timeframe of December 19, 2021-December 19, 2022.” We have identified records that are responsive to your request. Under the Wisconsin Public Records Law, we are required to provide notice to the record subjects prior to release of the records. After those notice periods have expired we will provide the records without delay.

MMSD’s legal team released about 100 emails responsive to the request, but apparently, they didn’t release the two most important documents.

NBC15 Investigates reached out to MMSD for comment. The response came from LeMonds, who simply said, “No statement.”

MMSD parents file open records requests after they say district leaders ignore concerns

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