Wisconsin mom: I will not stand down to tyranny
A Wisconsin mom says she will not 'stand down to tyranny' after the Oconomowoc Area School District sends her a cease and desist letter about her critical statements, and accused her of defamation.
A Wisconsin school district that sent a cease and desist letter threatening legal action against an activist mom dropped the issue Tuesday.
The Oconomowoc Area School District board released a statement, which said, "We consider this issue closed... Please know our district is committed to moving forward, continuing to deliver on a high-value education for students and our community."
The district added, "The purpose of the cease and desist letter was to advise the organization that it was publishing and circulating misinformation regarding the District’s curriculum and educational materials."
Alexandra Schweitzer, a vocal advocate in the Oconomowoc school district, received a threatening legal letter that was later ‘closed.’ (iStock)
The district sent a letter to Alexandra Schweitzer, the president of a No Left Turn in Education chapter in the state, in May after she raised concerns about the appropriateness of some curriculum and materials in schools throughout the district. The letter threatened the possibility of future litigation if she continued to make "defamatory statements" via meetings or in email. Her counsel, the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, responded in June stating that Schweitzer "will not be revoking any statement she made" and accused the district of using taxpayer dollars to silence a parent.
"In fact, use of outside counsel by the Oconomowoc Area School District… to send threatening letters to parents who speak in good faith about their experiences with a school district is antithetical to our Constitution and to your clients’ obligation as public officials," the law group said in response.
The president of the law group, Rick Esenberg, said, "By declaring the matter ‘closed,’ the District appears to have dropped its threat to sue Alexandra for criticizing the District."
A Wisconsin mom, Alexandra Schweitzer, said that her criticism of the Oconomowoc school district led to threats of legal action (Fox News)
"As a mom and volunteer community leader, I spent months communicating directly with the district to ask questions. Instead of getting answers, they sent me a cease-and-desist letter and accused me of spreading misinformation," Schweitzer said. "I can only hope that the district will no longer participate in these bully tactics and instead, engage with parents on the education of our children."
The district continued to maintain in their statement that the parent was peddling "misinformation."
The school district maintained Schweitzer was spreading "misinformation" in their statement. (iStock)
"Oconomowoc Area School District remains committed to transparent communication with our district’s parents and caregivers. Our goal is to continue to have open, two-way dialogue with our parent community. However, we want those conversations to be grounded in facts, and the representations which have been made by the organization to whom the cease and desist letter was directed were not accurate with regard to the District’s educational standards and practices," the district said. "When political organizations… promote misinformation for the purpose of political gain, it hinders meaningful conversations with our community."
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"It’s a shame the District continues to accuse her of spreading misinformation while refusing to explain what it might be or responding to our letter explaining the basis for her statements, but this is still the right outcome and the result we hoped for. Parents should be free to comment on their experiences with their kids’ schools," Esenberg added.
Fox News Digital reached out to the school board but did not immediately receive a response.
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