KCE Editor Kevin Mathewson and a parent at Mukwonago Area School District filed suit today in Waukesha County Circuit Court. In the lawsuit, the duo is requesting a judge to force MASD and it’s Superintendent Joseph Koch to release records involving alleged inappropriate touching and grooming of a then-14 year old by a teacher named Steve Telkamp.
On March 14, 2024, Sallee’s daughter made a complaint to the school district and her parents then got involved. An investigation ensued and concluded. Sallee and his wife were never informed about the results of the investigation. The school told Telkamp not to have contact with their daughter at school. Three days later, the girl’s mom says, Telkamp violated this directive.
On April 3, 2024, the school district started a second investigation into Telkamp. In mid April, the girl told her parents that Telkamp wasn’t at school anymore. The family would never see Telkamp at school again. A district-wide email went out on May 15, 2024, notifying parents that Telkamp resigned. Sallee and his wife assumed that was the end of his teaching career.
Sallee made several public records requests to obtain documents related to the two investigations relating to his daughter. He received a few documents but had a strong suspicion that the district was concealing multiple records.
Sallee, a popular TikToker who goes under the name Kensconsin, learned that Telkamp accepted a job in Kenosha County. His viral videos about Telkamp made their way to KCE’s tip line in short order. Two days after this year’s first day of school here in Kenosha, Telkamp was placed on administrative leave.
“My very own daughter, my daughter and her school district where we live, she was the target of a teacher there. Now that teacher was ultimately allowed to resign…just know a public school system has one less teacher on staff and it’s great news for our daughters. It’s great news for our daughters where I live, but not somewhere else. I also shared this a little bit further on the story that at my daughter’s high school, there was a teacher there who was grooming, not only my daughter, but other underage girls. And our story that we had to go through to make sure that he was held accountable, multiple investigations, we had to stay on top of the school system. And ultimately he was allowed to resign. He was not fired. And apparently his record does not reflect any of this. And now he’s been hired at a school just down the road in Kenosha. This school right here, he’s been hired.”
KCE contacted KUSD on September 5, 2024 and Kenosha Unified Chief Communications Officer Tanya Ruder told us that “[w]e are aware of this situation and the employee is currently on an administrative leave while we investigate. I cannot share any further details as this is a personnel matter.”
On September 5, 2024, KCE made a public records request to MASD and we got some documents, but like Sallee, we knew there were documents missing. KCE hounded Koch and eventually he provided us with records, but still, asserted that the substantive records concerning the investigation were not subject to Wisconsin’s Public Records Laws because they were “notes.”
Telkamp was hired by MASD on May 10, 2023. On March 22, 2024, Telkamp was reprimanded by the district. The letter of reprimand stated, in part:
“This is a letter of reprimand being issued to you based on a concern that was brought to my attention on March 14th 2024. Based on my investigation, I believe your conduct violated [several school board policies.]
… A concern was brought forward to your administrator’s attention that you were making student a uncomfortable and class by doing the following:
- Winking at Student A
- Staring at Student A for extended periods of time
- Touching student A’s hair and shoulder
- Going out of your way to give unwanted attention to student A
Additionally, it was brought to your administrator’s attention that you made inappropriate comments to Student B about her clothing being too tight, specifically her shirt.
These behaviors have not only impacted the students involved, but have also negatively impacted the student’s parents, other students in the building, in the school community as a whole.
As educators, it is our responsibility to foster an environment where all students feel safe, respected, and valued. You are expected to demonstrate professionalism in your work with students. Winking at students could easily be misconstrued as flirting, and such, it is an inappropriate nonverbal affirmation to use with students. Additionally, physical contact with students should be avoided, as there is also room for interpretation, and it could be misconstrued as flirtatious behavior.
Additional issues of this nature result in further disciplinary action, including, and up to, termination.”
Telkamp was accused by the district of not following the directives given to him and was placed on leave on April 11, 2024 – only 20 days later. The letter states in part:
“This letter is notify you that you are being placed on paid administrative leave effective immediately until further notice, pending investigation into allegations that you have not been following administrations directives related to contact with a student…
To protect the integrity of the investigation, you are also not to interfere with the investigation in any way, and including not destroying any evidence or discussing this matter with staff, students, or parents. You are also directed not to retaliate against anyone who brought forward concerns regarding your alleged behavior or anyone who participates in the District’s investigation into these matters. Failure to follow the directives containing this letter may result in discipline up to and including termination.
As part of our investigation your attendance is required at a meeting at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, April 15th, at the Mukwonago Area School District Office.“
During the time Telkamp was on leave, there were many rumors being passed around. On April 23, 2024, a student emailed his or her counselor asking “Hello I am in Pink Block which is my math seminar class[.] [D]o you know if Mr. Telkamp is coming back[,] because [I] want to know if [I] should use this time as like a study hall.”
The counselor forwarded this email to the associate principal. The associate principal responded by saying “You can reply with something like this: I do not know anything about Mr. Telkamp’s absence. Mrs. (Teacher’s Last Name) is working closely with the substitute covering the class to make sure you guys are continuing to work on your math skills. If you finish the work for the class then you may use remaining time to work on assignments for other classes.” On April 29, 2024, the same associate principal sent out a department wide email saying “I can not speak to specifics regarding Mr. Telkamp’s absence. I do not know how many more days we are needing coverage…”
Just four days later, Telkamp resigned. It wasn’t your run-of-the-mill resignation. It was a three-page legal document, likely prepared by an attorney for the district, dated May 3, 2024.
In the agreement, the district agreed to “remove from [Telkamp’s] personnel file all documents referencing any disciplinary action issued to [Telkamp] by the District.”
The superintendent of Mukwonago Area School District, Joe Koch, made it very difficult for KCE to get public records from the district. We had to threaten to sue twice. They initially withheld the letter of reprimand, and later withheld the notice of administrative leave. We have yet to obtain the investigative files. The district’s attorney made it seem to KCE that they had been destroyed.
KCE and Ken from TikTok both got letters from a Madison-area attorney. He asked KCE to take our initial article down. We declined. As for the attorney’s letter to Ken? The lawyer “demanded” that Ken:
- Remove all your videos, postings, etc on all of your social media accounts concerning or relating to my client;
- To cease and desist for making further defamatory statements regarding my client to any third party;
- and contact KUSD through the same means in which you contacted them previously and apologize for getting involved in my clients contractual relationship and inform KUSD that you are retracting your allegations.
You read that correctly, Telkamp’s lawyer threatened to sue Ken if Ken didn’t retract his statements that Ken said are true. Ken, of course did not retract any statements to KUSD.
After the more than two-month investigation Telkamp has returned to KUSD. Steve Telkamp started the year as a Math teacher at Bradford High School. Although KUSD said in a statement to KUSD, “Due to the length of the investigation, the staff member has been moved to eSchool,” KCE can confirm via a KUSD insider, that the decision was made seemingly to limit Telkamp’s physical exposure to students. Also, KUSD believed that Talkamp would sue. He already “lawyered up.” The length of an investigation leading to a teacher being transferred to a different school isn’t believable on its face. Female teachers have babies and take leave for three months or longer and return to the same school every year. KUSD isn’t being honest with us, again.
(File Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
“Kenosha Unified is committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all students and staff, and we take any concerns regarding our employees very seriously. Recently, a thorough investigation was conducted regarding the staff member in question. As part of this investigation, we contacted the individual’s prior employer and consulted with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
After careful review, there was no evidence to suggest wrongdoing that would prevent the district from keeping the staff member employed. Due to the length of the investigation, the staff member has been moved to eSchool.”
Kenosha Unified eSchool, may not have its own students in the building, but it shares a building with an elementary and middle school. On of the school’s teachers told KCE, on the condition of anonymity, “I’m happy to learn that KUSD moved [Telkamp] to a school where there aren’t high school-aged girls, but now he’s with much younger students. That’s a concern.”
“I find it disturbing that my repeated requests for the investigation records into my minor daughter were concealed and withheld from me, the involved family, but so easily released to the media,” said Sallee. “And it’s clear that there are yet more records in the possession of MASD and I hope the judge agrees with us that these records need to be released, not only for my family’s piece of mind, but for the Kenosha Community. There needs to be more transparency and accountability when issues like this come up,” added Sallee.
“KCE gave MASD and their lawyers several chances to avoid litigation, but they resisted at every turn, so Ken and I decided to sue the district together as both a parent and the news media, sharing a common goal of letting the light shine on those who are tasked with educating and protecting our youth and those accused of inappropriate behavior,” said Mathewson.
MASD seems to be avoiding service of process, but once they are served, they have 20 days to respond to the lawsuit.
If this lawsuit is successful, KCE and Sallee will donate the $100 statutory damages to The Women’s Center in Waukesha.
