The cost of public documents from local entities on the rise

kdhnews.com

Journalists across the state rely on the Texas Public Information Act to gain an inside look at the inner workings of public institutions, but locally one public entity is using exorbitant fees as a way of stalling access to hundreds of public documents.

As of Sunday, the Killeen Independent School District is charging $1,110.44 for two requests for public documents from the Killeen Daily Herald, charges the Herald contends are unreasonable considering public tax dollars pay for the salaries of the employees who work in the district’s public information department.

KISD REPORTS

Almost six months ago, on Sept. 22, the Herald requested, “All internal audit reports and administrative investigation reports from the Director of District Safety and Investigations Charles “Chuck” Kelley during his time with the Killeen Independent School District.”

According to his LinkedIn account, Kelley, who has been with the district since 2018, spent over two decades working for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration prior to joining Killeen ISD. The former DEA agent’s salary is more than $101,000 in his current KISD role, about double what a starting KISD teacher earns.

Surrounding school districts — Temple ISD, Copperas Cove ISD, Belton ISD — do not have a position similar to Kelley’s title listed on their respective websites.

On Oct. 20, KISD requested a decision from the Texas Attorney General’s office regarding whether the information the Herald requested was “confidential and excepted from disclosure.”

After a wait of 45 business days, on Jan. 4, the Herald received a letter from the AG’s office describing a partial win for the newspaper: The Herald could have Kelley’s reports, as long as student information and the school safety audits were redacted.

Despite the Herald’s partial win with the AG’s office, the request for Kelley’s documents is now currently stalled by a dispute over KISD’s proposed fee estimate to produce documents.

The district is charging the Herald $429 for documents requested under the Texas Public Information Act, a charge the Herald asserts is intended to delay the release of information to the public.

A decision from the Attorney General about the Herald’s complaint regarding KISD’s fees is expected in early April.

LEGAL INVOICES

The public has a right to know how much money KISD spends on legal advice and legal representation in matters against employees and students’ guardians, which is why the Herald recently requested to review a decade of KISD’s legal invoices.

On Feb. 17, the Herald requested copies of “all legal invoices paid by Killeen ISD between Jan. 1, 2012 to Jan. 1, 2022,” allowing the names of employees, parents, and students to be redacted.

Weeks later, on Mar. 1, KISD requested a clarification adding that the district only had “invoices dated back to the 2016-2017 fiscal year.”

Thursday, the district informed the Herald it would cost an estimated $681.44 for the requested documents — alleging the request would take 19.58 hours at a rate of $15 an hour, plus an overhead charge of $58.74, and a redaction charge of $0.10 per page totaling an additional $329.

The Herald intends to seek an Attorney General decision on KISD’s latest use of exorbitant fees to curtail the public disclosure of records.

The purpose of Sunshine Week is to highlight those entities that are transparent and forthcoming with information, and also those who are not; lately, Killeen ISD has fallen into the latter category.

ldodd@kdhnews.com | 254-501-7567