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Reference Desks need public records training and supervision at Boston Public Library and at other cities' public libraries.



Subject: Hernando: School Board needs Public Records Law seminar
X-URL: http://www.sptimes.com/News/123001/Hernando/School_Board_needs_Pu.shtml

   St. Petersburg Times Online: Hernando County news
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   A Times Editorial

School Board needs Public Records Law seminar

   © St. Petersburg Times
   published December 30, 2001


   When the Hernando County School Board decided recently to maintain its
   current part-time arrangement with board attorney Karen Gaffney, its
   members acknowledged Superintendent Wendy Tellone's concern that
   Gaffney's time could be used better.

   We agree, and here's a suggestion that could save taxpayers a lot of
   time and trouble, and the board some credibility: Have Gaffney, along
   with a representative from the State Attorney's Office, conduct a
   seminar to instruct the board members about the state Public Records
   Law. Such a session is needed, because some board members neither
   understand the law, nor their responsibility to ensure their employees
   follow it.

   At a workshop meeting this month, board members launched into a
   discussion about whether part of the superintendent's evaluation
   should include a grade on how she deals with the media. From that, a
   far-flung discussion evolved about how inconvenient and "detrimental"
   it can be when the press or others start asking questions before the
   board and superintendent deem it appropriate to release the
   information. Specifically, some board members and the superintendent
   flatly stated they would not release documents, even if they are
   public record, before the board members had been made briefed about
   the requested information.

   Particularly offensive were the comments of board member Jim Malcolm,
   who said he would be willing to go to court to "delay giving out
   copies of that stuff if it's detrimental to the organization." Saying
   he would "protect my house," Malcolm added that sometimes the
   superintendent should tell the press, "I'm working with my people on
   this, and it's none of your business."

   Such talk is as reckless as it is outrageous. If the board or
   superintendent follow through on that threat, they will be breaking
   the law. Gaffney has a duty, as the board's attorney and as an officer
   of the court, to inform the board of that reality.

   The law is clear; it says all documents are public record. It doesn't
   matter if they are on paper, in a computer, or in a camera. They
   belong to the public and, with only a few exceptions, they must be
   made available promptly for inspection. That goes for preliminary
   reports as much as it does a finished product.

   But at least one board member, Robert Wiggins, doesn't know that.
   Wiggins displayed a remarkable ignorance of the law, saying that any
   document stamped "draft" is not a public record. He is wrong, of
   course, and that is especially disconcerting because besides being a
   School Board member, he also is a mid-level manager in the county
   Utilities Department.

   Board members John Druzbick and Sandy Nicholson were not as
   irresponsible as Malcolm in voicing their agreement, but they sent a
   clear message that they agree with his premise that sometimes it is
   better to keep information secret for a while. Only board member Gail
   Coleman advocated a level of access that is in accordance with state
   public records law.

Let the public decide

   Remarks like Malcolm's violate the spirit of the law, and are
   dangerously close to doing the same to the letter of the law. It's not
   up to him or any other public servant to decide what may be
   "detrimental" to the school district. Information is what it is, and
   neither releasing preliminary information nor withholding it until the
   last minute will change that.

   Taxpayers do not need their public servants to "protect" them from
   information they are paying to have assembled and disseminated. They
   have as much, and sometimes a better, ability to discern the
   importance of information, and to place it into context. The law
   affords them the opportunity to observe the process from beginning to
   end, and to see how their public servants, elected and appointed, make
   decisions.

   How dare Malcolm talk about protecting his "house." Not a single
   brick, book or scrap of paper belongs to him. He has only fractional
   ownership, along with every other person in the county who pays taxes.
   His only advantage is that the public has given him the honor of
   temporarily overseeing their interests.

   You can't say it any clearer than did Pat Gleason, general counsel for
   Attorney General Bob Butterworth. "It's not up to the government to
   decide what (record) to withhold and when to withhold it."

   If Malcolm or other board members don't like that law, they can plead
   their case to the state Legislature. But if they are not prepared to
   fight that uphill battle, they should reconsider their out-of-step
   opinions and stop their petulant complaining.

   The School Board should be taking steps to improve and expand on
   access to public records, especially electronic records. Instead, it
   is retreating from the standard that properly places the interests of
   the public above its own.

   Malcolm's wrong-headed position on this issue is so disappointing
   because, as a veteran member of the board, the public has learned to
   depend on his progressive stands on issues affecting classroom
   education. But this harangue tarnishes an otherwise creditable record.

   Superintendent Tellone should not buy into this rant. The board may be
   her boss, but she has a greater responsibility to the public. Instead
   of breaking the law -- once all the board members review what the law
   actually says -- Tellone should come up with a system that keeps her
   board informed without thwarting the public's right to know.

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     School Board needs Public Records Law seminar
http://www.sptimes.com/News/123001/Hernando/School_Board_needs_Pu.shtml

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