A new and easy-to-read guide explaining how to submit Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests is available on the Oxford Community Schools website, according to Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Nancy Latowski, who handles all the district’s FOIA requests.
The guide is part of the updated FOIA legislation that was signed by Gov. Rick Snyder in late December 2014 and set to go into effect today (July 1). This the first update to FOIA legislation since it was originally adopted in 1976 to provide greater government transparency in the wake of the infamous Watergate scandal.
‘I think what it does is (it better) summarizes (FOIA guidelines) in a more succinct manner,? Latowski said. ‘It also has a very brief summary as well that if you don’t want to read through the whole document, it just gives you the CliffsNotes version.?
She noted the new guideline template, which Oxford adopted from the Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB), is ‘very clear? in that it divides parts of the law into sections, making it easier for requestors to look up a specific section of the law that they want clarification on.
All FOIA requests must be submitted in writing, which includes e-mail. According to the district’s FOIA guidelines, once a request is made, Oxford has five business days to respond and in some cases, they may extend the time period by 10 business days in order to ‘fulfill a request completely.? It is, however, noted that ‘a response does not necessarily mean the records are provided within five days.?
One of the areas that has been of great concern to requestors for years is the subject of ‘fees.? Fees for copies of documents have often varied from one public body to the next over the years. The updated law caps all municipalities at a cost of 10 cents per page. However, living in the digital age, many public bodies often respond to FOIA requests electronically, which negates having to charge the requestor copy fees and is more economically friendly. Latowski said the district mostly responds electronically.
There are other fees that can be attached to a FOIA request besides just charging for paper copies.
‘It does outline for certain documents, how much you can charge (for) labor time and personnel time (depending on) the different levels of work that need to be done,? Latowski explained. ‘If it’s work that can be done by an administrative assistant, you charge the lowest rate of that pay scale and if it’s work that I need to sort through because no one else can (it will be at a higher rate).?
The typical hourly wage for an administrative assistant at Oxford Schools is $13.10 an hour. Labor costs are estimated and charged in increments of 15 minutes with all partial time increments rounded down. The new guidelines also allow fringe benefit and overtime costs to be calculated into the fee scale as well. According to the guidelines, the district can ask for a fee deposit.
‘The District shall require a good faith deposit from a requestor before processing a public records request if the entire fee estimate or charge exceeds $50, based on a good faith calculation of the total fee,? the guide states.
If an individual thinks the district has charged an excessive fee, they may submit to the Board of Education or the superintendent a written appeal or can even seek an appeal in civil court under Section 10 of the FOIA law.
If a court determines the public body violated the guidelines, they could order them to pay a civil fine of $500 to be deposited in the general fund of the state treasury and ‘award in addition to any actual or compensatory damages, punitive damages in the amount of $500 to the person seeking the reduction.?
For more information on the district’s FOIA Procedures and Guidelines check out www.oxfordschools.org or pick up a free copy at the district’s central office, located at 10 North Washington St. in downtown Oxford.