ELIZABETH, W.Va. — A policy being considered by the Wirt County Board of Education would charge $20 an hour for staff to gather records and information for Freedom of Information requests.
Today is the last day that people can comment publicly on the policy before the board of education considers it.
”For public records requests which are reasonably estimated to take more than 15 minutes of staff time to search for and compile, a charge of $20 per hour will be charged for said staff time beyond the first 15 minutes,” the proposed policy states. ”Such staff fees must be paid in full before the records will be made available.”
The state Supreme Court ruled in April that state agencies can charge hourly fees to fulfill requests for public documents filed through the Freedom of Information Act.
Some people against the proposed policy in Wirt County have said it was an attempt to discourage citizens from requesting and obtaining public records because of having to pay the $20 an hour fee as well as the costs of making copies and any associated postage fees. They also said no Freedom of Information request can be handled in 15 minutes, indicating the fee would be a given on any request.
The full policy has been posted on the Wirt County Schools website atwww.edline.net/files/-6ZChl-/becc0fd6fe3328cf3745a49013852ec4/B-04-Public-Records-Policy.pdf
A link for comments was posted at the bottom of the proposed policy on the school board’s website.
The policy states any person can inspect and copy by hand the public records of this school system during the regular business hours of the office in which such records are maintained, provided that an advance written request to review and/or copy such records is made to the custodian of the records and the custodian has set a date and time for such review.
The proposed policy states the superintendent is authorized to grant or refuse access to the records of the county in accordance with the law and the intent of the policy.
A person requesting to make copies of public records that have been provided for inspection under the Freedom of Information Act can use the board’s copying equipment for this limited purpose, the proposed policy states.
Copy charges must be paid in full before the copies will be released, the policy adds. The charge for copies would be 50 cents a page or the amount posted in the central office, whichever is higher.
Under a heading of “purpose” in the proposed policy, it said the school system realizes what it needs to do in regard to records.
”The Wirt County Board of Education recognizes its responsibility to maintain the public records of this County and to ensure that such records are available for inspection and reproduction,” the policy states.
Board President Carl Brainard and School Superintendent Mary Jane Pope-Albin could not be reached for comment Monday.
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