FDL School Board Member Admits He May Have Broke Open Meetings Law

A Fond du Lac School Board member has admitted he may have broke an Open Meetings law, but said on a social media post he’s willing to accept the ramifications of his actions, should anyone challenge it.

School Board member Nick Teifke sent an email to the rest of the School Board as well as District Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Fleig, stating the Board “needs to seriously reconsider the reopening (of the School District) plan, follow the local health department guidance, and put a district wide mask mandate in place.”

In his email, Teifke cites county cases of COVID-19 are up, hospitalizations are up, cases in the 6-19 year age range are more than triple compared to this time last year. Teifke goes on to say “every indication we currently have tells us this current plan will go very wrong quickly.”

Board Member Teifke urges the board to reconsider “as soon as possible” then tells Dr. Fleig “I want to support you 100% as our new superintendent and education professional however I can no longer support this plan.”

Social Media was quick raise the question of the apparent violation of Open Meetings Laws, to which Teifke responded “I acknowledge my actions were not appropriate and should anyone wish to pursue it further I will deal with the ramifications of that. If that’s the only rule I break in fighting for what I believe, I’d say that’s a pretty good day.”

KFIZ News reached out to Mr. Teifke regarding the e-mail, but he declined the offer to be interviewed. Teifke’s term is set to expire in 2022.

The current mask mandate is a “mask optional” plan approved previously by the Fond du Lac Board of Education. Students are set to return to the class room for the 2021-22 school year Wednesday, September 1.