Public deserves to know about school business

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request filed by The Winsted Journal more than a month ago for emails related to Board of Education business has yet to be fulfilled, and school board members appeared in no hurry to be open and honest when the issue came up on their agenda Tuesday night.On Aug. 9, Journal reporter Shaw Izikson requested copies of all emails related to school business, from the beginning of the current board’s term to the present day, noting that ousted school board Chairman Kathleen O’Brien had said the board had been conducting some of its business via electronic messages. In response to the request, the acting board chairman sent a memo to The Journal, requesting advance payment of 50 cents per page for printed emails amounting to approximately 1,000 pages of documents per board member. With nine members on the board, the cost to produce the pages could have amounted to at least $4,500. The Journal responded to this obvious stalling tactic by requesting the emails be provided in electronic form.An email from board member Susan Hoffnagle last month suggested that the board had already gone ahead with printing the emails in question, but those copies have yet to be seen.On Tuesday night, board members suggested that members of the public do not have a right to review electronic information related to board business. This is contrary to state law. Board member Richard Dutton went so far as to say the board should go ahead and charge The Journal $500 for paper copies of the emails, before they have even been produced.It seems obvious now that some board members have something to hide, but without a timely release of public information, Winsted’s townspeople — also known as taxpayers who pay the school board’s bills — are being left in the dark. Meanwhile, Winchester school officials have repeatedly delayed inquiries into their business, including official audits of the financial system. The lack of transparency can only lead voters to wonder if they are being poorly served by their elected leaders. Under Connecticut FOI law, members of the public have a right to review data related to town and school business at any time, and The Winsted Journal is doing everything it can to exercise that right. We will keep you posted on our progress in the coming weeks.

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