Beaufort County Council members disclosed Monday that they have invoked the FOIA to obtain data on which the school district has based its decision to build a school north of the Whale Branch.
Members of Beaufort County Board of Education disagree among themselves on the location and size of the new school, even though they moved ahead Tuesday night with an agreement to purchase 84 acres for the school -- pending permits, of course. County Council also questions the location of the school on publicized discrepancies in the data determining the location, need and size of the school. Several school board members even have questioned the potential resegregation of county schools based on the location of this school.
That the proposed $28 million high school, approved by voters in a 2000 referendum, continues to draw the ire of council, as well as raising the level of frustration for not being able to get reasonable answers to reasonable requests in a timely manner, should work to the benefit of the general public.
It's a question that voters should ask of every public official at election time: What will you do to comply with the state's Freedom of Information Act? What will you tell government employees and their bosses about compliance? What about costs? Will they be as inexpensive as possible? A few years ago Port Royal was charging $35 an hour, to be paid in advance, for searching public information. The cost was outrageous. The school district recently charged The Gazette $75 for researching and providing information. The city of Beaufort has charged $25 for a copy of the budget.
It's comforting once in a while when public officials get the runaround from other government agencies. The public feels that they aren't alone any longer. Of course, it's only worthwhile when government and its representatives learn from the experience and amend their ways.
As for the reply of the school district spokesman that the County Council "asked us for some very specific and detailed information, and we are doing our best to ensure accurate information is provided to them," one can only say that if they are building a new school, the most accurate information and data should be at their fingertips.
While the FOIA gives the district 15 days in which to comply, they should have had that information in 15 minutes, but a week should be sufficient. And, the district has had the request for some time now.