Sunshine Week: Open Records in Schools
Several articles on open records issues in schools:
- Meg Jones: School District loses 2 suits over lack of transparency
Barry Hoerz was kicked out of a meeting of the Weyauwega-Fremont School Board in July.
What’s unusual is that Hoerz was a member of the School Board, and he was told to leave because he was writing notes during closed session.
A Waupaca County circuit judge agreed with Hoerz after a four-hour trial in January and ordered the district to pay a $300 fine as well as attorney expenses and other fees totaling $9,133, according to court records.
While squabbles among school board members and superintendents are not rare, it is unusual for a school board member to sue the board for violating the state’s open meetings law.- Madison Parents School Safety Site:
This week is national “Sunshine Week” (Sunshine Week web site; Sunshine Week blog), promoting open government and the public’s right to know. For last year’s Sunshine Week, the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle conducted a freedom of information audit to obtain copies of its school district’s reports of violent and disruptive incidents in school buildings.
- How to Reforum your local School Board
- Is it Possible to Have a Good School District with Less Money? Presentation to the Florence School District
