Kou Lee. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Former Green Bay school board member Kou Lee pleaded not guilty Friday to two felonies for allegedly getting elected to the panel while not being a resident of the district.
Lee, 48, is charged with election fraud – nomination certification and false swearing in a government setting.
No trial date was set Friday. He returns to court April 30 for a status conference.
Lee resigned May 8 after a Green Bay Press-Gazette story appeared to provide evidence Lee might not live in the school district then or when he campaigned and won his board seat in spring 2024.
State law requires a school board candidate to be a resident of the school district for at least 28 consecutive days before filing their declaration of candidacy.
An open records request revealed Lee told school board members in a March group text message that he had been living in Green Bay for several months before starting his school board campaign in 2022. He said he was working through personal issues with his wife and they were still deciding what to do with the Hobart home.
Among the evidence cited in the complaint is Lee’s property tax bill, which showed the lottery tax credit for a residence in Hobart. The credit is only used for primary residences. It also noted his four children were enrolled in the Pulaski school district using the Hobart address.
The complaint does not offer any comments from Lee.
The school board appointed a replacement to fulfill Lee’s term through April 2026.
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