Tennessee School Boards Association

7 Mar, 2015

Increasing fees for public records is not the answer for government transparency

By |2019-09-11T18:53:33-05:00March 7, 2015|Categories: fees|Tags: , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

The fastest way to shut down access to government records is to charge fees people can’t afford to pay. Another way is to simply ignore or delay responding to citizens or media who make requests under the Tennessee Public Records Act. Yet another, which takes more effort, is to actively confuse or frustrate a citizen or journalist with byzantine policies and practices to make them go away. All can be powerfully effective. And, unfortunately, all take place in Tennessee. The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government received nearly 200 calls to its hotline last year from journalists and citizens who faced obstacles in getting public documents from their local government or [...]

23 Feb, 2015

2 of 3 school board chairmen in Blount County see no need to charge to view public records

By |2015-03-02T07:30:33-06:00February 23, 2015|Categories: fees|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments

The Daily Times in Maryville asked the three school board chairmen in Blount County what they thought about changing the law to allow local governments to charge citizens to view public records. Two said they saw no need for it in their school districts, while the third appeared to rely on an example that wouldn't even apply. The Blount County school board chairman who favored allowing new fees described a situation in which the school district's fiscal administrator spent several hours writing responses for a citizen about the school district's budgets. “Each item dealt with finances and interpretation of policy, and he wrote two- to three-paragraph responses to educate the reader [...]

22 Feb, 2015

News Sentinel: Bill would charge extra fees for public records

By |2015-03-02T07:36:45-06:00February 22, 2015|Categories: fees|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments

The Knoxville News Sentinel reports in its Sunday edition what Knox County school board members think of an effort  by the Tennessee School Boards Association to change the law so that citizens can be charged inspection fees for public records. The story "Bill would charge extra for public records" by reporter Lydia X. McCoy is reprinted here, with permission: A majority of Knox County school board members said they support proposed legislation that would allow government agencies, including school systems, to charge residents more to inspect public records. For others, the bill raises some concerns. The bill, being sponsored by state Sen. Jim Tracy, R-Shelbyville, and state Rep. Steve McDaniel, R-Parkers [...]

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