| Yesterday, in a bench ruling that will be followed with a written opinion, a judge sided with this author and the Howell Public School (HPS) district in a 17-month running legal battle with the Michigan Education Association (MEA). The MEA, operating through its local chapter, Howell Education Association (HEA), filed the so-called "reverse FOIA" action in May 2007 after I had requested e-mails sent to and from the HEA's three union leaders. The school initially started to comply by disclosing a batch of e-mails from one of the officials, but before it could complete its response the HEA/MEA filed suit against the school seeking a permanent injunction against further releases. I intervened and obtained legal assistance. I will report more here shortly as soon as I have more information and the actual ruling, along with a recap of events and what we've already reported. Additionally, we will publish the released material as soon as we get it - but that will only happen soon IF the MEA doesn't appeal. |
