Texas parent sues school district for complying with open records requests
A Texas parent has sued Eanes school district, saying officials waste taxpayer money by complying with open records requests. Thomas Ratliff says the district is distributing too much information that isn't for the public good. The district was harassed by too many requests from the same people, says his lawyer Buck Wood. "This situation is allowing a person's right to open records to infringe on another person's right to have their government operate for the public good, not for the benefit of a select few," Mr. Ratliff said in a statement. A check of the records revealed that most of the requests during the 2005-06 school year came from just two parents. "Everything I have read in the lawsuit I do not disagree with," says Eanes school board president Robert Durkee.
The lawsuit is the most recent attempt to limit school districts' duty to respond to requests made under the Texas Public Information Act, which protects the public's right to access information on how public agencies conduct business. Government agencies must respond in a timely manner, and viewing public documents is typically free. Lake Travis school district filed suit in October against two parents who had made as many as 238 requests in a 24-hour period. However, that suit was dismissed by a state district court. The Eanes school district filed a "friend of the court" brief in the suit, detailing its own effort to deal with hundreds of requests. District officials report 210 requests for public information were made in the 2005-06 school year, many by parents Susan Bushart and Dianna Pharr. Ms. Pharr manages and owns a website that posts instructions on how to file requests, current open records requests, and information gathered from the requests, including the superintendent's contract. She contends she has met with great hostility from the district. "I'd say that I am not abusing the Public Information Act," she says. "It is to my and their benefit to just work with me."
Mr. Wood insists that the school district loses money producing and copying documents because the information requested is only viewed by those making the request. "When you ask for this many documents, they are harassing," he says. "There is no question about it. Eanes needs some sort of financial compensation for these requests because taxpayers are paying for it." Ms. Bushart claims she has spent over $400 on documents she has requested from the district and disputes that the district is following the state’s open document law. "I think that if the school district complied with the Freedom of Information Act then there would be no need for lawsuits," she says. The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas (FIFT) contends that it is legal for a person to request a record and view it without having to make copies. FIFT’s executive director, Katherine Garner, insists the law is there for the public and the vast majority uses it responsibly. Mr. Durkee disagrees, saying, "if someone has figured out a way to abuse the act, then it does put it in jeopardy for everyone else." He adds that the district will honor all document requests, "but some seem to have a real interest and some don't."
Austin American-Statesman
By Isadora Vail
[Full story]
[Editor’s Note: Ms. Pharr’s website is below. The Austin-American-Statesman reported in September that the cost of complying with the requests had angered parents and was the subject of an anonymous e-mail attack. Anti-tax activists also have targeted school districts in several states with sweeping public records requests. For information, see the third link below. A key factor in such instances is whether and to what extent state law allows the public to be reimbursed for the associated costs by those who request the information.]
[Keep Eanes Informed website]
TexasISD.com
By Raven L. Hill (Austin American-Statesman)
[Full story]
[NSBA School Law pages on information requests]