Michigan Parents Face $60,000 FOIA Fee in School Fundraising Inquiry.
Michigan parents face a $60,000 FOIA fee while seeking school fundraising records, sparking transparency concerns
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St. Charles, Mich. – Two parents in St. Charles, Michigan, were shocked when their Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the local school district resulted in a fee of over $60,000. The parents, Jan and Keeley, were seeking financial records related to school fundraising activities but believe the excessive cost is meant to deter their inquiry.
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The parents submitted a FOIA request for financial records on school fundraising expenditures and deposit reports over the past two years. After granting the district’s request for a 10-day extension, they received a certified letter stating that their request would be fulfilled—but at a cost of $60,448.
"It was laughable because that’s a crazy amount for the information we’re looking for," Keeley said.
School District Responds
The St. Charles School District has responded to the controversy, stating that the parents are being charged that amount because of the specific information they requested. The district maintains that the cost reflects the time and resources required to retrieve and compile the documents.
School officials have not publicly provided a detailed breakdown of how the cost was determined but noted that an hourly wage of $32 per hour was applied for the work needed to process the request. The fee estimate includes thousands of pages of documents, though the exact scope of the records remains unclear.
Legal Experts Weigh In on the High FOIA Cost
Legal experts say that FOIA costs can increase dramatically when requests are not specific. If a request is too broad, school employees may need to search through large amounts of data, which requires more time and resources.
"If the request was narrowed to specific dates, individuals, or types of transactions, the cost might be lower," said a Michigan-based FOIA attorney. "But if a request requires an extensive search, redactions, or manual compilation, the cost can add up quickly."
Michigan’s FOIA law states that public entities can only charge for the lowest-paid qualified employee to handle the request, but experts note that labor costs can still rise significantly if the request requires substantial work.
Concerns Over Missing Fundraising Money
The parents' FOIA request was filed due to concerns over missing money from football fundraising efforts. According to Jan, fundraising efforts under a previous football coach raised $10,000, which was deposited into the school's account. However, when the team attempted to access the funds the following season, they were told the money was gone.
"The board and administration never had clear answers when asked about financials," Keeley explained.
In response, the football program separated from the school and formed a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization to manage its own funds. However, the school has since been asking questions about the nonprofit’s finances, even inquiring at the bank.
The parents believe the high FOIA fee is an attempt to discourage them from obtaining financial records related to the district’s handling of funds.
"They are trying to shut us up and get rid of us," Keeley said.
Legal Options and Next Steps
The parents are now consulting with attorneys to determine their next steps. They were given a February 14 deadline to submit 50% of the FOIA fee for the request to proceed.
While Michigan law allows public bodies to charge for FOIA requests, experts suggest that filing a more specific request could potentially reduce the cost.
The parents plan to continue attending school board meetings and pressing for transparency.
FOIA Best Practices
Legal experts advise that to avoid excessive FOIA costs, citizens should:
Be as specific as possible in their requests
Request digital records instead of printed copies
Ask for fee waivers or reductions when applicable
Appeal high-cost estimates if they appear excessive
Despite the high price tag, the parents say they are not giving up on getting answers.
"We just want transparency and accountability," Jan said.
Michigan’s FOIA Laws Among the Weakest in the Nation
Michigan has some of the weakest transparency laws in the country. Unlike most states, Michigan law exempts both the governor’s office and the state legislature from FOIA requests, making public accountability more difficult.
As the parents continue their fight for financial transparency, they hope their case raises awareness about public records laws and encourages others to hold local governments accountable.
There has to be rulings on this now. This is clearly how our government, that we already pay for via taxes is able to keep their corruption hidden from us. We have to find a way to expose this soon, not next year…. Now so we can get to their bottom of all of all it and keep our community involved and reminded of just how much they used us all to their own benefit
The school has something to hide. I want to know what individual who is going to do this makes $32/hr. It sure is NOT the secretaries who are lucky to make $25,000/year and they start work the first of August and work until the end of June. 5 day a week times 40 hours although administrative secretaries work year round. Your average secretary makes between $15.50-$20. So, it isn't a secretary. It will be your CFO or his/her assistant putting this together. So, $32/hr would make sense. But how many hours do they actually need 1875 hours? 375 day? That's more than a year to do this. These parents are asking for football fundraising for 2 years. Most schools allow fundraising one time per year. This seem like overkill to make the parents go away.