Arrogance comes in many forms, but it would be hard to find one to match the way the Provo School District told a member of the school board she would have to pay up to $450 out of her own pocket to receive copies of monthly financial records from each school in the district.

As this newspaper reported this week, the district's business administrator went so far as to say she would have to pay the cost of an employee's time to photocopy the records, estimated to fill about 3,600 pages. Charging for an employee's wages to do such copying is illegal under state law.

What we seem to have here is a failure to understand who works for whom.

It's safe to say that if a director of this newspaper wanted detailed financial records of any sort, he or she would be given them post haste, and at no charge. The same could be said of virtually any private business. What makes the Provo School District's attitude so outrageous is that the figures in question are a matter of public record. The law allows the district to charge the cost of photocopying public records for a citizen who requests them. Surely, a school board member who feels she needs the information in order to do her job ought to get it for free.

What is even more disturbing is to learn how other school districts in the state would handle a similar request. Some told this newspaper they would promptly provide the information. But others said school board members have only limited access to financial records.

The public elects school board members in order to provide oversight and accountability. Absent full access to records, it's difficult to understand how thorough that oversight could be.

In Provo, the district seems to think the request by board member Sandy Packard should be treated lightly, because she is the only one requesting it. Had a majority of the board asked for the materials, they would have been provided free of charge.

Frankly, that's ridiculous. The district works for the public, which is represented by the school board. Each board member has constituents in his or her district. That's a representative process that should not be treated lightly.