How does a $243.10 FOIA bill for board packets turn into a $35,000 court award?

[Shadowninja]

DEAREST READER,

How does a $243.10 FOIA bill for school board packets turn into a $35,000 court award?

Ask Midland Public Schools.

In July 2024, Renita Bonadies filed a lawsuit challenging fees associated with obtaining public school board records.

More than two years later, following a bench trial, a Midland County Circuit Court judge ruled in her favor. The district was ultimately ordered to pay $35,000 in attorney fees, costs, and disbursements.

💰 $243.10. One disputed FOIA bill.

⚖️ $35,000. The final court-ordered award.

And that doesn't include the district's own legal defense expenses.

Here's what really caught Lady B's attention.

Midland Public Schools now makes those same board packets publicly available at no charge.

So why did it take more than two years of litigation to get here?

School districts regularly talk about tight budgets, limited resources, and the need to stretch every taxpayer dollar.

Yet here is a dispute over access to public records that ended with a $35,000 court award.

In my opinion, that is an extraordinary waste of taxpayer resources.

Public school board packets should be readily accessible to the very taxpayers funding these districts. Transparency should be the starting point, not something residents have to fight for in court.

And that leaves Lady B with one question.

How many other Michigan school districts could avoid unnecessary legal expenses simply by being more transparent in the first place?

Public records. Public dollars. Public accountability.

With receipts and respect,
Lady Budgetdown 🕯�

#LadyBudgetdown #MidlandPublicSchools #MichiganSchools #TaxpayerDollars #GovernmentTransparency #FOIA #PublicRecords #SchoolBoardAccountability #FollowTheMoney