Jim Fuqua Archives - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

3 Aug, 2017

Sumner County School Board blames the Office of Open Records Counsel for bad advice

By Deborah Fisher|2018-11-16T15:13:59-06:00August 3, 2017|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: attorneys' fees, Elisha Hodge, Jim Fuqua, Ken Jakes, Office of Open Records Counsel, Sumner County School Board|0 Comments

The Sumner County Board of Education blames the Office of Open Records Counsel for bad advice that led it on a journey of spending almost $250,000 of taxpayer money to defend, then appeal, a public records lawsuit that it lost. From The Tennessean: "We are disappointed that the court decided that the board’s former policy did not comply with a 2008 version of Tennessee’s public records statute, especially because the Office of Open Records Counsel, which has the legal duty to interpret the act, informed the board that its policy was lawful and that its response to Mr. Jakes’ request was appropriate under the law," a statement reads. "The board [...]

2 Mar, 2016

The Tennessean: School board to accept voicemail for records inspection

By Deborah Fisher|2016-03-02T18:28:12-06:00March 2, 2016|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, requests|Tags: Jim Fuqua, Judge Dee David Gay, Ken Jakes, public records request, Sumner County School Board|0 Comments

The Sumner County School Board met last night to adopt a new policy on public records requests after a judge last year said their policy violated state law. They had refused to fulfill a request two years ago because a citizen made the request by sending an email and following up with a phone call, instead of using the U.S. Postal Service or appearing in person. Read reporter Tena Lee's coverage from the Gallatin News Examiner: School board to accept voicemail for records inspection. Also, The Standard of Hendersonville's story by Sherry Mitchell, who also got quotes from the attorney representing Ken Jakes: School board gets court-ordered policy change just [...]

29 Jul, 2015

Public records practices of Sumner County Schools under scrutiny at trial

By Deborah Fisher|2015-07-30T05:27:34-05:00July 29, 2015|Categories: requests|Tags: Jeremy Johnson, Jim Fuqua, Judge Dee David Gay, Ken Jakes, Kirk Clements, public records request, Sumner County, Sumner County School Board, Todd Presnell|1 Comment

Ken Jakes, an open government advocate and a candidate for an at-large council position on Nashville’s Metro Council, is expected to testify Thursday morning in a public records lawsuit he brought against Sumner County Schools. Jakes sued after making a request in March 2014 to inspect the school district’s public records policy. District officials say his request, though they received it, was not valid because he sent it by email. Jakes also followed up with a phone call and left a voice mail. At issue is whether Sumner County Schools officials can refuse to respond to a public records request if it is received by email. The district’s policy at [...]