The chronic delays in fulfilling requests experienced by many members of our community defeat the legal requirements for government transparency, which are cornerstones of our democracy.
It's especially salient when people within the school district debate in FOIL-able media whether your efforts at the Croton Chronicle constitute "journalism," using that as a potential justification for not answering certain requests that you make.
It is true that last spring BoE trustee Neal Haber took it upon himself to research whether I was a “real” journalist and the Chronicle was a “real” media outlet, and reported the results of his research to other board members and district officials. He found that U.S. courts do not allow government bodies to decide who is a journalist and who is not. Nevertheless, current board president Ana Teague misunderstood that conversation and told me recently that the district had determined the Chronicle was not a legitimate media outlet; she had to admit that she was wrong in a followup email copied to the rest of the board and several district officials. I have an FOIL request pending for all of these communications and discussions and might report on them once I get the documents (which are now delayed for another 20 business days for the reasons indicated in this Editorial.)
It's especially salient when people within the school district debate in FOIL-able media whether your efforts at the Croton Chronicle constitute "journalism," using that as a potential justification for not answering certain requests that you make.
It is true that last spring BoE trustee Neal Haber took it upon himself to research whether I was a “real” journalist and the Chronicle was a “real” media outlet, and reported the results of his research to other board members and district officials. He found that U.S. courts do not allow government bodies to decide who is a journalist and who is not. Nevertheless, current board president Ana Teague misunderstood that conversation and told me recently that the district had determined the Chronicle was not a legitimate media outlet; she had to admit that she was wrong in a followup email copied to the rest of the board and several district officials. I have an FOIL request pending for all of these communications and discussions and might report on them once I get the documents (which are now delayed for another 20 business days for the reasons indicated in this Editorial.)