Kenosha School Board members walk out of meeting after parents refuse to take campaign signs off property

KENOSHA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The Kenosha School Board tried to meet Monday night to clear up a controversial oversight in last year's school board election, but the board never made it to that step.

Instead, the meeting turned into a standoff, pitting parents against the board. 

The board planned to take public comment and then speak directly to both the current board member and a second man, now vying for his seat, but that didn't happen.

KUSD board members walked out of their own special meeting after audience members refused to take campaign signs supporting Eric Meadows off school property.

"I mean we've had other meetings where people have come in in all the same T-shirts expressing their opinions," said Elizabeth Murillo, KUSD parent. "So I'm not sure why us supporting a person that we voted for, rightfully so, is considered wrong."

We're told backstage, board members asked lawyers about bringing campaign signs into a public school board meeting. Meanwhile, the audience said the board was violating the Wisconsin open meetings law. 

"This display tonight is a reason why I'm running," said Lamar Madison, parent and 2023 KUSD board candidate. "People should be able to come here, say what they have to say and the board sit there and listen."

Parents didn't remain quiet in their seats as several board members remained absent from theirs. 

"And if they can't do their jobs, shame on them, and perhaps the whole board ought to resign."

The KUSD board was told by the state elections commission last month that the seat Meadows won last spring was technically only a one-year term, not a three-year term. 

Meadows gained a lot of support during the days of Covid, fighting for schools to reopen and mask mandates to be dropped. 

"After a few months, we got more data and kids were not really vulnerable, but they still decided to make us go virtual," said Meadows. "I started going to every meeting every single month, trying to demand that our schools stay open for my child, which is what my child needed."

After an hour, chants of dissatisfaction as the board returned to the room, only to announce they decided to suspend the meeting to a later date. 

"This is absolutely lawless behavior again by the Kenosha Unified School Board," said Mary Magdalen Moser, Meadows supporter. "This is a noticed public meeting and for a reason that she just pulled out of thin air, we're not gonna have a meeting."

There are seven board members and we're told it's typically a 5-2 or 4-3 vote, with Meadows voting with the minority. 

The date for the next meeting has not yet been set.