Renton Schools Do Well on Public Access Audit

November 2001 - A recent statewide audit of public agencies revealed some government workers essentially breaking the law by withholding documents from citizens requesting information under the Public Records Act. Reporters and other members of 26 news organizations, posing as ordinary citizens, visited school districts, law enforcement agencies, health departments, county assessor’s offices, as well as other agencies in each of the state’s 39 counties.

The Renton School District was asked for information. Becky Nickels, recently retired executive assistant to Superintendent Dolores Gibbons, responded quickly, helping the district get high marks in the audit.

The audit found some employees of government agencies do not fully understand rules regarding access to information and the public’s right to know. Some employees offered resistance and attitude or simply refused to give information that was later deemed allowable under public access rules. Those rules can be daunting. There are some records that make up personal profiles of students and staff that can not be released. Likewise there is information that must by law be offered to the public.
For more information on this story, and to see rules governing public access to information, visit http://www.wa.gov/ago/consumer/public.html or www.openwashington.com.