09/13/2025
To the taxpayers of Kasson-Mantorville School District:
KMEM supports Superintendent Giese’s recent letter addressing the financial strain caused by excessive data requests from a local paper. These requests have already cost our district nearly $10,000 in legal fees and thousands more in staff time—resources that should be supporting our students and classrooms. We encourage the community to stay informed and recognize the strain these requests place on district finances. Supporting our schools means ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent wisely—where they make the greatest difference: educating KM students. Read below!
Letter to the Editor
As I stepped into my new role as superintendent, one of the first areas I reviewed was the district’s legal fees. I was surprised to discover that the Kasson-Mantorville School District has already spent $9,946 responding to excessive data requests from the Dodge County Independent, and the costs continue to climb. This dollar amount doesn’t even include the hours our district staff have already spent compiling the requested information. To date, that cost has already reached $1877 in paid staff wages.
By law, every single request must be carefully reviewed and redacted by attorneys to protect private information like your name, a staff member's name, and so on. This is not optional. For example, a recent request (August 18) demanded every single email sent to the superintendent since May 1. That means thousands of messages from parents, staff, coaches, and community members, all of which must now be examined line-by-line by attorneys. This process will take months to redact and is estimated to cost around $1,700.
Another request sought all emails to and from school board members during the same time period. This sweeping search stemmed from a simple question about who should serve as acting board chair in the chair’s absence. While the board handbook now clarifies this process, at the time, Chair Mark Torkelson was within his rights to appoint another member to fill in as chair. Was it truly necessary to demand every email from every board member to address this question? Perhaps this reflects the fact that the requesting reporter does not live in or have a connection to our amazing communities. I wish I knew the answer to “why”.
This raises a troubling concern: should community members have to worry that their private questions, concerns, or complaints sent to the superintendent or board might be swept into data requests? Yes, details are redacted, but the sense of privacy being compromised remains.
This is not about resisting transparency; I value that deeply. I have personally responded to every phone call, email, and text from the DCI reporter--even while on vacation. I cannot help but wonder: what exactly is the reporter hoping to uncover and at what cost to our community? State law requires that anyone may review this data in person at no cost, which means the district cannot recover even a single dollar of these expenses.
We ask our community, including local journalists, to help us strike the right balance, while holding schools accountable and also ensuring that limited resources remain focused on what matters most: educating kids and our amazing staff.
Beth Giese
Superintendent of Schools
