School districts show huge disparities in charging for FOIA requests
From Sunshine Review
9 December 2008
Recently the South Carolina Policy Council sent out identical Freedom of Information Act requests to each of the state's 85 school districts seeking records on employee travel, catered meals, and training services.. In response they received estimates for providing the information varying from no cost up to $55,388. With all districts combined, the total charge for the request came to $400,000.[1]
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[edit] South Carolina FOIA
Under the state's Freedom of Information Act, districts can only charge for the actual cost of searching for and copying records. This is to be done at the lowest cost for the requester. Despite the clarity of the law, estimates varied greatly from districts of similar size and budget.
A dozen districts gave estimates of over $10,000 to furnish the records, while ten districts estimated $1,000 or less.[1]
[edit] $120.00 an hour for labor
Bryan Cox, a spokesman for the Policy Council, said “The public has a right to this information. It is public record, and it is supposed to be provided to the public under the Freedom of Information Act. But what we have in practice is exorbitantly high fees, which make it nearly impossible for the average citizen to see how school districts are spending public money.”[2]
The second highest quote, some $35,000, came from Greenville County Schools’. In explaining the estimate, district spokesman Oby Lyles, said “I think a lot of times when people submit a request, and I’m not talking about this one, they think we can just reach in a drawer and pull it out. But that’s not true when you are asking for these kind of records -- it involves a lot of people.” He said the $35,000 was partly base on an estimated 1,100 staff hours to pull records.[2]
However, according to the original estimate, Greenville stated 280.5 hours would be necessary, not 1,100. Subtracting 10,000 pages at 15 cents per page, that would work out to nearly $120.00 an hour for labor.[1]
[edit] Requested Documents
Specifically, the FOIA request sought the following records from 2006 to present:
- Documentation of funds spent on all in-state and out-of-state employee travel
- Documentation of funds spent in relation to non-employee travel
- Documentation of funds spent on in-state and out-of-state conference fees or seminars
- Documentation of funds spent on catered meals
- Documentation of funds spent on management and consultant services
- Documentation of funds spent on education and training services – non-state
- Documentation of funds spent on education and training services – state
- Copies of any correspondence sent from teachers to students requesting they bring supplies
or money to buy supplies, school trips, or any other school related needs
The SCPC points out that Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom already posts similar information about state spending and said he would be able to do the same for the school districts at no additional cost.[1]
