Oshkosh School Board votes to change banking partner after denial of service

OSHKOSH, Wis. (WBAY) - In a unanimous vote Wednesday night the Oshkosh Area School Board approved the transfer of millions of dollars to a new financial partner, ending its relationship with Associated Bank.

It’s move coming just months after Action 2 News aired a story concerning Assistant Superintendent Sam Coleman, who was denied the ability to cash his paycheck without explanation from an Associated Bank branch on West 20th Ave.

The assistant superintendent was at the meeting and provided Action 2 News with a statement after the vote:

“My reaction as a community member and as someone who had a personal and disappointing encounter with Associated Bank, is that I appreciate the district’s commitment to ensuring value alignment. I am inspired by an organization that honors its commitment to its mission and lives its core values in everything it does.”

The district also released a statement on the decision:

“This decision was the result of a comprehensive request for proposal (RFP) process that evaluated bids from multiple financial institutions. After careful review of all proposals and interviews with finalists, Nicolet Bank stood out with their comprehensive services, proposed enhancements and efficiencies, strong community commitment, and alignment with the district’s core values. Their local presence and resources will be an asset in efficiently managing our accounts as we move forward.

This switch will ultimately provide enhanced banking services and improved financial management for the district. We look forward to working closely with Nicolet to be wise stewards of our resources in support of educational excellence for all students.”

It also follows a story Action 2 News covered last September regarding a denial of service, when the newly hired assistant superintendent, who is Black, attempted to cash his first paycheck. The original reporting of this story recently won an Eric Sevareid Award of Merit.

It was July 7 that Oshkosh Assistant School Superintendent Sam Coleman, who holds a Ph.D. in education, says he walked into this Associated Bank branch on West 20th Ave. in Oshkosh to cash his paycheck, not expecting an interaction which would leave him frustrated.

“I walked into the bank and just like most people I’ve cashed checks before so expected to have a very typical interaction where I was asked for an ID. If it’s a bank I don’t have an account with, I’m asked to present two forms of ID and then the check would be cashed. That was not my experience,” said Coleman.

Coleman says upon presenting his paycheck from the school district, which is drawn on Associated Bank, the teller summoned the assistant manager who said it was against the bank’s policy to cash the check.

“Again, I’ve cashed checks at banks before including Associated Bank and so I knew what he was saying wasn’t true,” said Coleman. “So, I asked what policy it was he was referring to. I never got a clear answer as to what policy he was referring to, just that he wasn’t going to be able to cash the check.”

Coleman says he was never asked for an ID, and the bank made no attempt to verify the authenticity of the check, which could have been done with a call to the school district’s HR office.

“It was just, a look at the check, a look at me and then the denial of services and now to add to that the denial of services was based on the assumption I was trying to engage in a criminal act and I would like to know from the bank, why I was assumed to be engaged in a criminal act,” said Coleman.

As a result, Coleman filed a complaint with Associated Bank’s corporate office, which led to a voicemail, being left on his phone, from John Halechko, Director of Branch Services who said:

“We did not follow policy, ah, for cashing on a check. These are checks that we have with a business or municipality, ah, so my apologies, ah, for not being able to negotiate, ah, the check for you. Ah, we absolutely can.”

Coleman says that message led to a meeting with Associated Bank officials and Oshkosh School District administrators, a conversation Coleman recorded.

“Well, let me say unequivocally that we will do what we need to do, and I completely agree with you. I agreed, I agreed with you since the day I talked to you,” Halechko is heard saying. “I understand that this is such a major, won’t use the word I’d like to... that this was so bad that it caused me... I, I don’t send emails with a lot of exclamation points ever, it was, it was bad and I understand how bad it is.”

We did repeatedly reach out to Associated Bank for comment, in an attempt to get their side of the story, but a spokesperson would only acknowledge that the bank is aware of the complaint, which is under review, and has nothing further to say.

What Coleman says he really wants to know, is why the bank suspected he was attempting to commit fraud, by cashing his paycheck.

“I can’t prove if my race was a factor in this situation but what I do know is, any person would expect to walk into a bank and be treated equally and be treated fairly and that just wasn’t my experience,” said Coleman.

Action 2 News did reach out to Associated Bank Wednesday; they’ve yet to comment on the matter.

District officials say they expect to have the banking transition complete by the end of June, and there shouldn’t be any impact on employees receiving their paychecks.

Note: Assistant Superintendent Sam Coleman holds a Ph.D. from University of Wisconsin-Madison and masters degrees in education and educational leadership. Action 2 News follows Associated Press standards, which say news organizations should reserve the formal title Dr. for persons with a medical doctorate, including physicians, surgeons, and dentists.

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