Buyer Beware! School District Public Records and The Ultimate Escape Clause

I believe that it is reasonably well known that I often make Public Records Requests of the School District.  Usually these requests are for documents of a financial nature.

Superintendent Mark Porter finds my requests tedious and objectionable, but he ultimately complies as Florida’s Public Records laws demand that he do so.  You have to stay on top of the situation and usually repeat your request.  Porter invariably hopes that if he ignores you long enough that you will go away, which I never do.

I think that everyone knows that a Public Records Request must be for a specific, clearly identified document.  Requestors cannot go on a fishing expedition as the District is not required to create a document that does not otherwise exist and you can be assessed an hourly fee for research.

I have always been as specific as possible with my requests.  In turn, the District has always responded with the documents in question, even if the reaction is slow and grudging.  Whenever I receive a document, I assume that it is legitimate, that its title and content are accurate representations.  It has never been a problem until recently.

I have been informed by District legal counsel that when I am provided with a document, the District does not couch for or otherwise guarantee that the document is what it purports to be.  There is no representation by the District, implied or real, that the contents of the document are valid, authentic, or accurate.  This is especially the case when the document purports to be a District policy or procedure.

According to legal counsel, for a policy or procedure to be valid and in force, it must have been approved by a vote of the School Board.  The fact that a policy or procedure exists and is published by the District does not, according to counsel, make it valid.

It is counsel’s prerogative to say that “I do not believe that the School Board ever approved the policy in question and I cannot find any evidence that it did.”  At that point you, the receiver, not the District, the provider, must prove that the policy or procedure has Board approval and is thus valid.  Do not be misled by publication or the fact that the policy or procedure is generally followed by the District.

It is the ultimate escape clause.  If you accuse the District of not following a published policy, e.g., Schedule of Rental Fees, your accusation is, by definition, invalid unless and until it can be proved that the School Board voted to approve the Schedule of Rental Fees.  All who follow the machinations of the School Board know that the members rarely vote on anything.

In this case, since the School Board supposedly never adopted the Schedule of Rental Fees, it becomes impossible, by definition, for the School District to improperly charge someone for use of school facilities since there is no legal mechanism for properly charging for use.  It is circular logic at its best.  This becomes a real problem when the District permits a church to use school facilities and not charge rent while at the same time charging secular groups rental fees.

The Monroe County School District is notorious for its poor recordkeeping and has made no effort to improve circumstances.  I have asked District counsel to review all policies and procedures and to inform me as to which ones are valid (approved by the School Board) and which ones are not.  I doubt that I will receive an answer to that request.

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Dr. Larry Murray