A local resident and attorney, Angie Pingle, used the citizens forum at the Elmbrook School District Board meeting on Nov. 11 to press the board on transparency and contract clarity.

Pingle told the board she was "disappointed" to learn the board met in closed session on Nov. 5 to "confer with legal counsel ... with respect to litigation" related to public records requests. She urged the board to remember transparency as a core district value, warned that litigation often benefits lawyers and can be costly, and asked the board to thoroughly evaluate alternatives before proceeding with legal action.

Pingle then addressed the Southeastern Wisconsin School Alliance (SWSA) agreement on the meeting agenda. She said the agreement references services in “Appendix A,” but no Appendix A was included; Exhibit A contains a proposed budget but does not list services or state how cost overages would be handled. Pingle also noted a timing inconsistency cited in the agreement: it calls for invoicing on July 1 with payment by Sept. 1 while the contract term appears to run Oct. 1–June 30. Finally she questioned a change in fiscal intermediary to a CSA manager from the longstanding South Milwaukee District and asked why that change had not been discussed in open session.

A board member responded that the board had approved the agreement in July and that the Nov. 11 action’s purpose was to confirm a change in fiscal intermediary; the member said both organizations are capable of serving as fiscal agent. The board did not reopen the consent vote that evening.

Pingle’s comments put formal questions on the record about missing contract attachments and the clarity of billing and governance terms; the board’s public response noted prior approval but did not address all specific document gaps Pingle identified.