Former Wisconsin superintendent asks court to stop release of audit
(FOX 9)
GLENWOOD TOWNSHIP, Wis. (FOX 9) - A former Wisconsin school superintendent is trying to stop the public release of a forensic audit expected to detail allegations of financial fraud during his time leading the school district.
Attorneys for Tim Johnson, the former superintendent of the Glenwood City School District, filed a restraining order last week asking the St. Croix County District Court to prevent the release of the audit. Johnson is also seeking his own copy of the audit.
In a letter to school staff Thursday, the current superintendent, Patrick Olson, said Johnson’s filing of the court injunction means, "it is highly likely we will NOT be able to proceed with the Intellex Forensics Audit presentation," during an open session of the school board meeting on July 24.
Wisconsin’s public records law requires local governments to engage in a balancing test of whether the public interest is served by the release of information.
On June 25, Superintendent Olson sent a so-called Woznicki Notice to Johnson, informing him of the pending release of the audit and his right to appeal the decision.
A hearing on whether the audit should be released has yet to be scheduled before St. Croix County Judge Scott J. Nordstrand.
In March, the Glenwood City School District authorized an external forensic audit and investigation into allegations against Johnson.
The St. Croix County District Attorney and federal prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Wisconsin have been reviewing the audit for possible criminal charges.
The Receipts
Johnson, 52, served as superintendent of the Glenwood City School District for nine years before resigning May 2023, telling the school board it was time for him "to start a new professional journey and challenge."
His abrupt departure came in the wake of questions about the authenticity of receipts Johnson had submitted to the district for continuing education classes at Viterbo University in La Crosse.
A former substitute teacher, Amy Dopkins, noticed the receipts from Viterbo didn’t have a professional letter head, the spacing of lines were inconsistent, and didn’t contain course numbers or credit information.
Those nine receipts total $40,700 and cover a three-year period, from August 2017 to December 2020, with course titles like Successful Leadership, Legal Issues in Education, and Organizational Capacity.
Viterbo’s Registrar’s Office told FOX 9 by email last year that Johnson had not attended the school since 2013, when he received his Superintendent Licensure in Educational Administration.
After his resignation from the district, Johnson, through his attorneys, sent the district a check for $43,760 as unspecified restitution. The school district has not cashed the check.
Budget Troubles
Budget notes prepared by Superintendent Olson for a May 20 school board meeting indicate the district’s investigation into its former superintendent may not be limited to his continuing education expenses.
Those notes show the district is considering filing an embezzlement claim of $200,000 in restitution and attorney fees with the district’s insurer.
Superintendent Olson detailed several budget hurdles for 2024-2025, including increases in health insurance, staff and teacher pay, and problems he inherited from Johnson.
"This is proving a difficult task due to a variety of reasons," Olson writes.
"Very different budgeting strategies, processes, and protocols from previous administration to current administration," Olson told the school board.
In recent months, the school board has liquidated and closed its stake in two private investment funds, combined several bank accounts, and is reexamining the spending of special education money.
The district has $395,913 in federal COVID relief money, known as ESSER III Funds, that it needs to claim by September.
Under its new superintendent, the district has ended a $10,000 annual performance bonus for administrators and is conducting a five-year review of the $17,500 budgeted annually for the superintendent’s office.