Columbus, OH – On Thursday, The Buckeye Institute filed a lawsuit against Columbus City Schools for the release of public records that are subject to Ohio’s Public Records Act. The Buckeye Institute requests that the court order Columbus City Schools to comply with the lawful public records request and award court costs and attorney’s fees.

“Access to public documents is fundamental to our system of government and is clearly spelled out in Ohio law,” said David C. Tryon, director of litigation at The Buckeye Institute. “Despite their clear responsibility to produce these public records, Columbus City School officials have refused to comply with Ohio law, and it is unfortunate that the district’s actions have forced The Buckeye Institute to turn to the courts to resolve what should have been a simple matter of complying with Ohio’s Public Records Act.”

The Buckeye Institute’s lawsuit covers two instances where Columbus City Schools refused to turn over public records. The first relates to two of Buckeye’s clients in Darling v. AFSCME, Christin Wilkins and Ronnie Legg. In this instance, Columbus City Schools refused to produce public records related to union dues deductions improperly withheld from Ms. Wilkins and Mr. Legg’s paychecks. In the second instance, Columbus City Schools refused to produce public records pertaining to staff training materials and curriculum.

The lawsuit was filed in Ohio’s 10^th District Court of Appeals.

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