Oak Creek-Franklin board elects Frank Karini president in 4–3 vote, fills officer posts and delegates

The Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District board elected its 2026 leadership and approved several representative appointments during its April 27 meeting.

Frank Karini was elected board president by a 4–3 vote, the district announced after individual paper ballots were collected and counted. Meredith Whitman was elected vice president by a 4–3 vote, Mike Dudzik was elected treasurer by a 4–3 vote, and Kelly Gineer was elected clerk by a majority vote.

The board also appointed Courtney Heidi as recording secretary and named Dan Theielen deputy board of education clerk after a motion by Nigley was seconded and approved by voice vote.

Separately, the board designated representatives to external bodies: Meredith Whitman as the CESA 1 board representative; Cheryl Cerniglia as the Wisconsin Association of School Boards voting delegate with Whitman as alternate; and appointed a representative to the Oak Creek Park and Recreation Commission following nominations and a vote. The board approved the issuance of individual teacher contracts as presented.

Why it matters: Board officers set meeting agendas and represent the district to regional organizations; the selections determine who will carry the district’s positions into association meetings and external committees over the coming year.

What happened next: Board members discussed timing and membership of external associations and instructed staff to place a motion to consider withdrawing from the Southeast Wisconsin Schools Association (SWAS) on a future agenda cycle because the current membership runs through June 30. No formal withdrawal was enacted at the April 27 meeting.

The board concluded by confirming the appointments and moving to informational items, including a March budget update.