Clarification on records?

PROVO — Two Utah lawmakers question whether the state's government records law must be clarified for elected officials. The questions follow a decision by the Provo School District to charge a school board member for records she had requested.

"Especially for financial documents, I find that amazing, appalling and shocking. For a board member who has a fiduciary responsibility to oversee the finances of the school district, to not be granted full access to these finances causes me great concern," Rep. John Dougall, R-American Fork, said.

Dougall and Senate Majority Leader Curtis Bramble, R-Provo, seek more information about why the school district staff told board member Sandy Packard that 3,600 pages of documents she had requested would cost $250 to $450, depending on how fast she wants the documents.

Packard asked for copies of the documents in a June 28 request under the Government Records Access and Management Act.

The district office is charging for duplication as well as employee time for records that Packard seeks. Packard wants to see each of the schools' monthly expenses and revenues.

On Friday, Dougall said the school district office told him that the school principals have been slow to provide the data.

Packard said she filed a request after verbally asking for the documents for two years.

The lawmakers said they need more information before deciding whether the law should be clarified about whether GRAMA requests are necessary for elected officials and whether they should be charged for documents.

"The first step with me would be to have a frank discussion with the Provo school board and the school district administration, and I'm talking about a formal communication as the Senate majority leader. Right now, I've got the newspaper reports, I haven't heard Randy (Merrill's) side of it, Kerry (Smith's) side of it," Bramble said, referring to Merrill, the superintendent, and Smith, the district's business administrator.

To Bramble, the issue is a larger one of accountability with school boards, including the Utah State Board of Education, which declined to attend a recent legislative hearing about the Utah Attorney General's job as it pertains to the state board.

After hearing about the GRAMA request in Provo, Dougall said he thought about other school districts in Utah.

"We've seen fraud issues take place up in Davis and Weber school districts," he said. "Are we running loose with taxpayer money? That's a key question I have, and I'd like to have more information."

Between Thursday and Friday, the Deseret Morning News, seeking comment from the district officials, left two voice messages and sent one e-mail to Provo Superintendent Randy Merrill and business administrator Kerry Smith.