MMSDs’ Culture of Opaqueness

Tim LeMonds is used to seeing his name in the press. After all, it’s his job. So why has he been trying so hard to keep his name out of the papers recently?

LeMonds is the spokesperson for the Madison public schools. He’s quoted routinely on all kinds of issues that come up in the schools on a weekly, often daily, basis. In fact, I’ve been concerned that too much information seems to need to flow through LeMonds. Superintendent Carlton Jenkins seldom speaks for himself and he has probably been the lowest profile public schools leader Madison has seen (or not seen) in a very long time.

In fact, in a story last week in Isthmus by Deborah Kades, she reports that when WMTV reporter Elizabeth Wadas approached Jenkins at a public meeting last winter LeMonds prevented her from reaching him. He told her that the meeting was for the public. Wadas informed him that being a reporter did not make her an alien, but apparently to no avail. 

LeMonds also leads a communications department for a district that, beyond just LeMonds, seems intent on not communicating. In 2019 a Madison East educator and trip chaperon was found to have placed hidden cameras in the hotel bathrooms of students. The district conducted an investigation to determine if staff followed policy regarding the reporting and follow up on these incidents. The investigation concluded they had, but the district refused to release the report. Parents and students were, understandably, upset. Even school board members were not allowed to read it. Then, inexplicably and in response to another open records request on yet another camera incident, the district released the full report to Isthmus in August of 2021. LeMonds refused to answer Isthmus reporter Dylan Brogan’s questions about it at the time. 

And over a long period, the MMSD holds the dubious distinction of being the least transparent public agency in the state. In March, the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council “awarded” the district with its No Friend of Openness (Nopee) award. The council wrote: “It’s rare for a public institution that depends on taxpayer support to be as awful as this one when it comes to public records and accountability. The district, through spokesperson Tim LeMonds, has become notorious for outrageous delays and excuses, prompting multiple lawsuits alleging violations of the records law. Tom Kamenick of the Wisconsin Transparency Project has said he has “received more complaints about MMSD than any other government agency.” It is time for the district’s casual contempt for the public’s right to know to come to a screeching halt.”

Then the board held a meeting about what to do about the district’s lack of transparency… in a meeting that wasn’t open to the public. There was a technical glitch that prevented the livestream, yet the board decided to go ahead with the meeting anyway. They were advised by their attorney that just opening the door to the meeting room would suffice. Never mind that the meeting had been noticed for online access only. As the Wisconsin State Journal wrote in an editorial, “you can’t make this stuff up.” 

And now a Dane County judge has rejected LeMonds own demand to squelch a complaint from his staff about his conduct. That’s right. The head of communications for MMSD wanted to block release of an MMSD document that even his own opaque employer wanted to make public. 

Essentially LeMonds has been accused of being a bully around his office and with reporters, especially women. Given the amount of detail in the complaint, the number of individuals involved, the collaboration of accounts by reporters who have felt LeMonds’ wrath and text messages that LeMonds himself sent that are on the record, I read it as a pretty compelling case. Yet, LeMonds counters that an internal investigation cleared him of any wrongdoing. 

It would be in LeMonds’ own best interests to have the full report of that investigation released. The accusations are now in the public record, despite LeMonds’ best efforts to keep them secret. So now let’s see the other side of the story and let’s understand why the internal investigation found the complaints to be without merit when, at least on the surface, they seem both serious and well documented. 

As I’ve suggested above, this isn’t just about LeMonds. In fact, he seems to be the kind of spokesperson the district, or at least Jenkins, has wanted. After all, he reports directly to the superintendent. If Jenkins wanted a more open approach he could have told LeMonds to act accordingly or he could have found another spokesperson. 

Jenkins leaves his job this summer. That in itself seems less than transparent. He announced several months ago that he was retiring only to show up in the last several weeks as a finalist for a job at another district. This suggests that there may have been other reasons for his departure, but don’t expect to ever learn what they were.

In any event, this change in leadership would be a good time to open up the windows in the Doyle building, air things out and allow in some sunshine.