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Charlotte Schools Ordered to Pay Over $66,000 for Public Records Violation

Exterior view of a Charlotte school building highlighting public records request.

News Summary

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) has been ordered by a court to pay more than $66,000 to a local TV station due to violations of public records laws. This comes after the district withheld important data regarding sexual violence incidents within schools. The ruling highlights the necessity of transparency in educational institutions, particularly concerning student safety and sensitive issues like sexual violence.

Charlotte Schools Hit with Big Bill Over Public Records Case

In a striking turn of events, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) has been ordered by the court to pay over $66,000 to a local television station. This ruling, issued on March 28, comes after the school district was found guilty of violating public records laws by withholding important data on sexual violence incidents.

The Issue Unveiled

In June 2021, the television station submitted a public records request to CMS, seeking data on sexual assaults, rapes, and sexual harassment from the school district dating back to 2011. Initially, CMS took a surprising stance, claiming that the records simply did not exist. However, things took a dramatic turn when a mediator later discovered that the data was indeed available, following an anonymous tip-off to the television station. This data was part of a larger, troubling federal lawsuit involving allegations of rape against a 15-year-old girl at Myers Park High School.

A Series of Requests and Reactions

Investigative journalist Nick Ochsner wasted no time and filed multiple requests between June and August of 2021, hoping to uncover the complete picture surrounding sexual violence in local schools. CMS did respond, providing over 8,000 pages of documents. Yet, they made the controversial decision to exclude several records they deemed too confidential, citing student privacy laws under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). This raised eyebrows and questions about transparency in the district.

Due to CMS’s apparent failure to observe North Carolina’s public records law, the television station took legal action. Fast-forward to 2023, and the school district maintained that they were following legal guidance in keeping certain documents secret because they were tied to the aforementioned sealed federal case.

Legal Challenges and Findings

The plot thickens: more than a year later, the television station received a confidential tip containing 167 pages of redacted disciplinary data on student-on-student sexual harassment from 2010 to 2015. Yet CMS didn’t acknowledge any wrongdoing in withholding records, and when questioned, two members of the school board sidestepped the issue.

According to the court’s findings, CMS failed to provide crucial information detailing reports of sexual violence on campuses. The court ruled that there was no legitimate reason for CMS to withhold these records, signifying that their adherence to public record laws was inadequate. The judge concluded that despite numerous documents being shared, CMS’s failure to release key data resulted in the unfavorable ruling against them.

Financial Fallout

No surprise here: the legal battle didn’t come cheap. The television station racked up over $120,000 in attorney fees throughout the nearly four-year fight, receiving a little over $66,057 from CMS in the decision. The judge’s ruling emphasized not only the importance of public access to such critical information but also the implications of a school district’s responsibility regarding transparency, especially on issues that significantly affect students and their safety.

In an unrelated incident, the N.C. Court of Appeals previously ordered the city of Charlotte to pay a whopping $125,000 in attorney fees to the television station after it improperly withheld public records related to a city council survey. This pattern suggests a growing emphasis on upholding public records laws across various organizations in the region.

What’s Next?

As the dust settles, this ruling sends a clear message about the importance of transparency in educational institutions. It’s crucial for school districts to take public records laws seriously and ensure that citizens can access vital information, particularly regarding issues as sensitive as sexual violence. Residents of Charlotte-Mecklenburg can only hope this encourages a more open dialogue and accountability moving forward.