Kou Lee. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A scheduled plea hearing was postponed Thursday for former Green Bay school board member Kou Lee on charges he was elected to the panel while not living in the district.
Lee, 48, has pleaded not guilty to election fraud – nomination certification and false swearing in a government setting.
The defense is still reviewing evidence in the case, and asked for another status conference. It was scheduled for June 29.
If there’s no plea deal, a trial would likely be scheduled then, said Judge Samantha Wagner.
Lee resigned last May 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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