More than three months after Riverside resident Christopher Robling submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to Riverside-Brookfield Township High School District 208, the former school board candidate is still waiting for the district to supply most of the information he asked for.
“I am disappointed it is taking so long,” said Robling on Monday.
Robling submitted his FOIA request on March 28, 2007 in the midst of a hotly contested school board race. He eventually finished seventh in a field of eight candidates in the April election.
Robling asked District 208 to disclose the costs associated with producing and mailing two glossy public relations pieces sent out the district. One piece was sent out shortly before the vote on a 2006 bond referendum while the second was a similar piece sent out less than a month before the 2007 school board election.
Robling also requested information about fees paid to a variety of companies and “all documents referring to parking, parking deck, parking structure and field house.”
The Freedom of Information Act, an Illinois law, requires public bodies to furnish information to citizens in a timely manner, unless that information is exempted from disclosure or is unduly burdensome.
On April 11, 2007 Mary Ann Nardi, the executive assistant to Superintendent/Principal Jack Baldermann, replied to Robling. Her reply, a copy of which was provided to the Landmark, answered one of Robling’s seven requests for information. For four other items Nardi’s letter requested an extension of time until April 20, 2007. For two other items Nardi wrote that the requests would be unduly burdensome to the district.
Robling said that was the last he heard from District 208 about his FOIA request until two days ago. On Monday, July 9 a reporter left a message for Baldermann requesting comment on the district’s response to Robling. Shortly thereafter, Robling was sent an e-mail requesting a meeting between himself and Baldermann later this week to discuss his FOIA request.
Baldermann said the failure of the district to respond more promptly and fully to Robling was due to the broadness of Robling’s request and the change in business managers at District 208.
“We did release some information and we’re in the process of gathering other information for him, but with the change in business managers and so forth it’s taking a little more time. And some of the requests were unreasonable and a waste of taxpayers’ money,” Baldermann said.
Former business manager John Gibson left District 208 on June 30, three months after Robling submitted his FOIA request.
Robling sent e-mails to Baldermann and District 208 school board President Larry Herbst on April 13 and May 8 offering to meet with them and work toward narrowing his FOIA request. But Robling said he never received a response to those e-mails.
“I’m not making any excuses, but it’s the end of the year, we’re very busy,” said Herbst. “We’ve got a lot on our plate right now and we changed our business manager.”
