We tried repeatedly to warn the Louisiana Department of Education (DOE) and Education Superintendent John White:
• Sent: Thursday, April 18, 2013 7:55 PM
To: john.white@la.gov; joan.hunt@la.gov
Subject: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST
I should not have to remind you that you are answerable to the people of this state whether or not you like it, whether or not you like me personally, or whether or not these records cast you in a bad light. The fact is, you have no recourse but to comply with the laws of the State of Louisiana—or suffer financial penalties as a result of litigation.
• Sent: Thursday, April 18, 2013 7:55 PM
To: john.white@la.gov; joan.hunt@la.gov
Subject: FIRST FOLLOWUP ON PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST (COPIED TO ATTORNEY J. ARTHUR SMITH)
Should you attempt to prevent disclosure of any of the documents requested by any method, including a claim of deliberative process, or by saying the records do not exist and I subsequently come into possession of these documents (as I most certainly will, though it may take time), I will pursue all legal means available to me against the department, John White and any other individual who takes part in such a ruse.
• Sent: Saturday, May 04, 2013 11:42 AM
To: john.white@la.gov; joan.hunt@la.gov; troy.humphrey@la.gov; ‘jason.hannaman@la.gov’
Subject: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST
Pursuant to the Public Records Act of Louisiana (R.S. 44:1 et seq.), I respectfully request the following information:
Please provide me the opportunity to review each of the multiple layoff plans submitted to Civil Service by the Louisiana Department of Education that are currently awaiting consideration by the Civil Service Commission.
Also, remember there is no such thing as a “three-day” deadline to produce records; they are to be provided immediately under statute, subject to penalties of $100 per day and the meter is already running on several other requests.
• Sent: Monday, May 06, 2013 4:25 PM
To: joan.hunt@la.gov; troy.humphrey@la.gov; john.white@la.gov
Subject: PUBLIC RECORD REQUEST
I would remind you that the Louisiana public records laws are quite specific about the time you are allowed to respond to this request. There is no “three day waiting period” as some believe. Please do not try to delay release of these public records.
On most occasions, it is generally accepted that one should be a gracious winner by exhibiting the customary display of humility and sportsmanship.
This is not one of those times.
Repeated attempts at obtaining what are clearly public records from White and his DOE have met with obstacles and frustrations ranging from denials that requested records exist to interminable—and illegal—delays to simply having our requests ignored.
There were other similar requests likes the ones listed above, accompanied by similar warnings of potential legal action—many others.
Finally, our patience worn thin, LouisianaVoice filed suit a couple of weeks ago.
What followed was, in the approximate order:
• The setting of a trial date of Monday, May 13 (today) by 19th Judicial District Judge Janice Clark;
• A flurry of responses to numerous long overdue records requests from DOE as if to say late compliance equated to full compliance (it doesn’t);
• A status conference last Friday (May 10) at which Judge Clark made known her intent to enforce the letter of the law regarding the state’s public records laws;
• DOE’s sudden show of repentance and an offer to settle the matter out of court;
• A final settlement approved by Judge Clark in court on Monday.
The lawsuit was a no-brainer from the get-go. The public records law is quite specific as to what is public record and the responsibilities of the custodian of the record(s) to make said record(s) available upon the appearance of any Louisiana citizen 18 years of age or older so requesting any public record(s).
Should a record not be available or in use at the time of the request, the custodian must notify the person making the request in writing as to when, within three days, the record shall be available for inspection.
The Division of Administration (DOA) on one of our recent visits was apparently not so clear on that point. A spokesperson for DOA assured LouisianaVoice that it had three days to make the record available. Not so. Take note of that, Kristy Nichols (Commissioner of Administration) and DOA legal counsel David Boggs; it may come up again.
The custodian must make the record(s) available for inspection and may charge up to 25 cents per page for any copies the requestor may want. The requestor, however, is not required to purchase copies he/she does not want. Moreover, should the requestor possess a portable scanner, he/she is free to copy as many pages as he/she likes into his/her scanner at no charge (First Commerce Title Co., Inc. v. Martin, Second Circuit Court of Appeal, 2005). The legal eagles in Gov. Bobby Jindal’s office might wish to make note of that so they don’t repeat that mistake.
And just in case you might be wondering, here are the terms of our settlement with White and DOE:
• The Department of Education must make available by close of business on Friday, May 17, 2013, all outstanding requests for public records from LouisianaVoice and Tom Aswell, including a list of DOE employees who are alumni of the New Teacher Project, Teach for America and/or the Eli Broad Academy—information DOE previously said it did not have;
• DOE must pay all court costs incurred by LouisianaVoice and Tom Aswell;
• DOE must pay the attorney fees for J. Arthur Smith, legal counsel for LouisianaVoice and Tom Aswell;
• DOE must pay $100 per day for each day that it was late in responding to each request for public records made by LouisianaVoice and Tom Aswell.
Altogether, the attorney fees, court costs and $100 fines come to about $6300.
That’s $6300 of your money the Louisiana Department of Education and John White could have saved state taxpayers simply by complying with the state’s public records laws.
We can’t help it. Sometimes you earn the right to gloat and be a little smug, sportsmanship and protocal be damned.
Louisiana Voice 
Congratulations, Tom. Great job !! Frank Frank L. Jobert, Jr. Executive Director, RSEA
Good for you. As a taxpayer, it’s worth the cost to ensure that the state complies with the law. Keep it up!
CONGRATULATIONS and thank you!!
Congratulations and please keep up the good work! Take that Bobby Jindal.
I hope your request included the contract, MOU or whatever White calls it with inBloom. I will be in the Claiborne Bldg myself Thursday and will attempt once again to get it. Thanks
It did, although it is not part of the suit. We’ll see how DOE responds. With the sweet smell of victory still in my olfactory receptors, I’m certainly not above filing another suit should it become necessary.
Hooray! Can’t wait until your first column after Friday!
Thank you for the time and effort. It is so sad to think I have no trust in the DOE, White, BESE ( with the exceptions of Lottie Beebe and Carolyn Hill) or most of my state government officials (I know that the day to day workers are trapped in this system like the rest of us) and my governor. I absolutely trust Tom Aswell! Thank you for giving us a way to get to the truth.
BRAVO!!!!!! Thanks for your tireless efforts.
Great Job, Tom, you deserve every penny you get which shows how “in contempt of the law” this group of individuals is, how wasteful they are with tax payers money and their lack of unaccountability for their actions. Congratulations and more power to you from the people of Louisiana.
Balls! The key to my door is . . . I better not say. We’ll have to use code.
Way to go Tom. Keep after them! They are trying to hide everything they’ve done from the public! Wonder why?
You’re a genuine hero.
Tom, you are a breath of fresh air in a maelstrom of corruption and deceit. Never, never, never give up. It takes time, but in the end, the truth always wins out. Keep the faith, keep up the good work, and above all, keep well.
Legislators and others in government take note. Mr. Aswell is a real man. Use him as your example of the kind of man you would want others to view you as being. Then set about to become that man.
Congrats Tom. Would love to be the proverbial fly on a wall to see what White et al are saying! 😆
Thanks, Tom, Mercedes, Herb, Lottie, & everyone who has fought this relentless assualt on our children and our profession. I have so enjoyed the privilege of being an underdog among you, but it feels really great, now that we are winning!
Tom, your tenacity is above reproach and it is definitely paying off. Let’s hope this sets a precedent other departments will follow. The saddest thing about this is who will actually pay these costs – the taxpayers of Louisiana. We should not only be outraged by the blatant way the law, including the constitution, are routinely ignored by our state government’s leaders, per se, but when we realize WE are paying for it with our tax dollars we should become even madder. It doesn’t matter how these lawsuits are ultimately paid, they are paid from tax dollars and/or in loss of state services that could otherwise be performed to our benefit. This is not only maddening, but disgusting.
Sounds like a provision needs to be added to the law that states the custodian is responsible for the penalty.
Absolutely!
It’s unfortunate that it takes legal action to prod public officials into doing what they clearly should do. Many media companies aren’t willing to incur the cost of protecting the public’s right to know. I’m glad that you are willing to press on.
High five! Great job.
Here’s hoping that the boy blunder will start paying attention and realize Louisiana citizens aren’t as ignorant as they thought. Their biggest mistake is underestimating those who stand up to their destructive policies. I hope Mr. White is packing his bags as we speak. Time for him to move on to greener pastures. He will learn not to mess with Louisiana.
Tom
I would offer my most profound congratulations to the long list of folks preceding me here. However, because of my realist nature, my having worked for four-plus years under this administration, and my belief that it is not over until the “paperwork” is done, or at least handed over, I will offer my congrats and my heartfelt thanks after COB 17 May and you have reported favorably that you actually have it. I do not want to seem to rain on your parade or belittle in any way a significant achievement, however, “I’m just saying”…..you cannot trust these folks.
Please keep on doing what you are doing. It is sorely needed and greatly appreciated.
I agree with your cautious optimism.
As that great philosopher Yogi Berra once said, “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.”
Congrats. A good dose of humble pie is exactly what White needs, You suppose Jindal will fire him for incompetence like Greenstein?
Nice. I need some extra pocket change and I have a lot of requests I bet they wont fill. This might be a nice way to fund a few tropical vacations.
🙂
Congratulations! You da man.
Ditto and Kudos
You go man! Now put those records on record. I would especially like to see anything the implies racism or classism published. With the closing of Earl K. and the RSD schools being located in the same area for the most part,as well as the physical neglect of North Baton Rouge coupled with the fact that the area tends to vote for Democrats, I think we could have a scandal.
IMPEACH JINDAL! FIRE WHITE! Pat Smith and John Bel Edwards for Governor and Superintendent!
Now if we could just make them pay out of the governor’s out-of-state travel budget instead of taking money from the children…..
If there is a next time, be sure to remind the judge she has the option of making the person responsible for the records, pay out of their pocket for the fines. Good job. Just wish all the judges would grow a pair and follow the law strictly and make those ruling stick. Nagin was one that should have been made to pay his own fines.
Now you are talking! Tom, you have done a wonderful job in holding their feet to the fire. Thank you, for ALL you do! And John Breaux is right on the money, so to speak! Hold John White responsible!
Thank you so very much for your relentless pursuit of making sure you get what it rightfully due to you and every other taxpayer in this State.
I only wish our legislators had the same backbone to stand up to Jindal and his puppets.
Thanks Tom for a job well done.
Has anyone done an analysis of what state agencies have spent in court costs and legal fees defending actions requiring disclosure of public documents since Jindal has been governor?
Sent from my iPhone
Great question!! Certain Tom has the answer to that one!! They so deserve Faircloth!!
Keep up the good work! Taxpayer money well spent (the $6300 plus fees), because it goes to you and your intrepid attorney.
The new solution is likely to be,,,no records at all.
May I quote you back to you:
“Earl Long is generally credited with the following quote:
‘Don’t write anything you can phone. Don’t phone anything you can talk. Don’t talk anything you can whisper. Don’t whisper anything you can smile. Don’t smile anything you can nod. Don’t nod anything you can wink.'”
Well done!
You’ve earned more than just a hamburger 😉
Reblogged this on Cloaking Inequity and commented:
“Where there is smoke, there is fire.”
Hip, Hip……..
HOOOOOOOOOOOORAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!
Wow! This makes me very happy. Keep up the good work.
Congratulations!
Hoping something similar can be done against Michigan’s republican governor who dared to close low-income Buena Vista School District, before semester is over, claiming lack of financial resources, and instead offered a summer camp. People like him, who don’t take education seriously, should be banned from occupying any public position. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/13/buena-vista-schools-skills-camp_n_3269071.html …
Please do not stop your efforts on behalf of our citizens! So many of us are unable to participate fully and openly due to fear. We are so thankful for those that are willing and able to take some kind of action.
that is the truth! Some of us are afraid to sit together at staff meetings since we did and were accused of ” asking belligerent questions.”
To quote Dayne Sherman in his column in todays editorial page of the local news paper, He writes that Willie Nelson who just turned 80 has a song that Piyush should download on his IPod. It’s real catchy and goes something like this: “There’s just a little old fashioned karma coming down/ Just a little old fashioned karma going round/ A little bit of sowing and a little bit of reaping/ A little bit of laughing and a little bit of weeping/ Just a little old fashioned karma coming down.” Yeah Piyush that’s your new theme song. Perhaps it’s time to resign from the governorship and take a little vacation. it’s all downhill from here on out. GREAT JOB TOM, DON’T STOP NOW! KEEP GOING TILL WE SEE PIYUSH’S COMPLETE DOWNFALL.
Tom,
You have the courage to change the things you can. We are thankful for your perseverance.
Tom, well done. Is there any way this victory for the citizens of La. can be put in The Advocate and The Times Picayune? Otherwise, it will get no further notice & this news needs to be spread so others will not be afraid to follow in your steps.
[…] LDOE’s propensity toward hiding information from the public, I was happy to read the first line of the audit document, “Under the […]