Schools

Oak Creek-Franklin School Board Member Resigns

Conflict arises with Glimeister's employment as girls basketball coach.

Oak Creek-Franklin School Board member Jim Gilmeister will resign because of a state regulation disallowing him from coaching sports in the school district and serving on the school board at the same time.

The recently learned of the state rule and Gilmeister was forced to effectively choose between coaching and maintaining his seat on the School Board, Superintendent Sara Burmeister said during Monday's board meeting.

He chose to continue coaching girls basketball and submitted his resignation, which is effective Tuesday, to the school board.

Find out what's happening in Oak Creekwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The district has had a conflict-of-interest policy in place since 1998 that prohibits board members from benefiting monetarily from the district more than $5,000, Burmeister said.

Burmeister said Gilmeister was careful to keep his coaching earnings less than $5,000, even coaching middle school basketball on a volunteer basis to avoid hitting the threshold.

Find out what's happening in Oak Creekwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"But recently we found out there's a little more to it than that," Burmeister said. "There is (a regulation about) 'incompatible positions,' and in sharing that with Mr. Gilmeister, he then was looking at a choice of continuing on the board or choosing to coach basketball."

School Board President Frank Carini, reading from a prepared statement, praised Gilmeister and thanked him for his service. Gilmeister has been on the board for about two-and-a-half years after unseating incumbent Thomas Robe in 2009.

"Jim has been a valuable asset to the board and has devoted a great deal of his time and his energy to the district," Carini said. "We respect his decision to continue coaching. We wish him only the best in his future endeavors."

Gilmeister did not speak at the meeting and was not available afterward, as the board went into closed session. 

It was not immediately known when the district first became aware of the conflict or the process to fill his seat. The next School Board election is in April. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here