Brockton superintendent search meeting records are incomplete
May 2, 2009: "Records from the meetings of the city’s superintendent screening committee make no mention of the voting process used to pick finalists.
No vote tallies are recorded in the records, and no specific details are included about the selection process.
The records consist of just two pages summarizing a total of four meetings.
'I think it’s vague at best,' said School Committee Vice-Chairman Richard Bath, referring to the records. 'It is not the type of minutes I’m used to getting.'" Read the full article here.
Resident requests preschool financial records
April 23, 2009: "A group of residents, citing concerns about the use of taxpayer dollars for Lincoln’s publicly funded preschool program, have called upon the school administration to release information related to the operation of the Lincoln Preschool.
Julie Lynch collected more than 50 signatures on a petition requesting all documents related to the financing of the public preschool. Dissatisfied with the lack of a response from the School Committee, Lynch took her inquiry one step further last month, submitting a formal request through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)." Read the full article here.
Walsh fiasco shows value of public records law
April 14, 2009: "The emails that derailed state Sen. Marian Walsh's bid for a high-paying state authority job saw the light of day only because of the Massachusetts Public Records Law. It was one of those rare instances where transparency trumped politics as usual, where a law designed to reveal the inner workings of government actually worked.
The state's Public Records Law is generally weak and ineffective. Vast swaths of state government are exempt from the law and many documents are shielded from its reach by a growing list of legislatively approved exceptions. Many government officials ignore the law and others subvert it by improperly withholding documents or charging excessive fees to produce information. Which is why the Walsh case is so refreshing." Read the full column here.
State lags in online access to public records
March 16, 2009: "It’s a paradox: in a state that prides itself on intellectual capital, Massachusetts ranks 38th out of 50 states when it comes to having online accessibility to public records, according to a national survey released Sunday.
Bits of information such as audit reports, fake business name registrations, consumer complaints, bridge inspection safety reports, child care center inspection reports, hospital inspection reports, school bus inspections, school inspections, safety records, gas pump overcharge records, and death certificates are not archived on the state’s Web site, according to the survey." Read the full article here.
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