MEA Expected to Appeal Zarko Victory - Lansing St. Journal Opines in our favor

by: chetly

Tue Nov 18, 2008 at 14:54:16 PM EST

The MEA plans to go to the Court of Appeals in an 18-month ongoing battle with Zarko Research, after a ruling last month by a local court that its "reverse FOIA" challenge had no merit. A procedural hearing will be held at 1:30pm on Thursday where the MEA will seek further delay while it appeals.

And we can now add the Lansing St. Journal to mainstream media sources agreeing with our right to access taxpayer funded e-mails by teachers who happen to be leaders of a teacher's union.  Since its already in their paid archive (I missed it three weeks ago due to the election), I can only include a clip below (after the More link).  Their point - the same as the Detroit News in May 2007 (Photo inset at right, linked as image) when the lawsuit was first filed - is that if you use taxpayer resources to communicate, the taxpayer should get to see it.  The editorials are remarkably similar despite 16 months of separation time and no link between the two - and that this one appears to have gotten the idea only from a Livingston Argus press story about the judge's decision (I received no communication from the LSJ editorial board, also partially why I missed it).

And add a ton of MEA (Michigan Education Association) lawyers including high-priced outside-counsel from White, Schneider, Young & Chodine PC in Lansing who have just expressed their intent to appeal the common-sense ruling of Livingston County Circuit Court Judge Stanley J. Latreille on Ocotber 27th.  The MEA apparently sees transparency and openness as a threat, and have filed to extend the delay in releasing documents with a hearing scheduled this week.

Use public funds, expect public disclosure Howell union cannot expect public privacy

• October 31, 2008 • From Lansing State Journal

• A school dispute out of Howell shows again that far too many people in Michigan do not understand the reason for the Freedom of Information Act.

Put simply, the people are entitled to know what is done by their employees, with their equipment. Government employees who bid for secrecy - for special consideration - destroy the credibility of the very institutions they claim to serve.

The issue in Livingston County was over e-mails written by employees of the Howell Public Schools. These employees, however, were also local union officials. When a political activist sought to obtain e-mails written on school computers, the local affiliate of the Michigan Education Association intervened, arguing to the court that these private union communications were not subject to FOIA.

Circuit Judge Stanley Latreille, however, ruled against the union. He said that the release of as many as 5,500 e-mails was up to the Howell school administrators.

One of the union officials who sent the e-mails argued further, according to the Livingston Daily Press & Argus, that the union has a "recognized right" to use school equipment.

[ed: perhaps it has a right to use the equipment, but the People have a "recognized right" called FOIA to see the fruits of its use - or iin the converse, that is, their "reocgnized right" does not include a right to use the equipment in secrecy]

Maybe it is impossible to separate private union business from the public sphere of a school district. That doesn't change the fact that if an e-mail came from a taxpayer-funded computer, it belongs to the taxpayers.

FOIA was enacted to enhance the public's ability to manage its government. To judge the performance of public officials, citizens must be able to see what is being done, or not done, on their behalf.

An easy fix in this particular case would be for the teachers union to supply its members with the technology to communicate its private business among its leaders and members. But once you enter the realm of public assets, you submit to public oversight.

... [deleted for brevity]

E-mails on school computers are an easy call.

[ed: "easy call" is right on]