The Richmonder wins FOIA lawsuit against School Board over redacted documents.

From The Richmonder:

The Richmond School Board improperly redacted documents related to an investigation into alleged misconduct by a school division employee, a Richmond Circuit Court judge ruled Wednesday.

The documents are related to the departure earlier this year of Ronald “Bobby” Hathaway, the former director of facilities and custodial services for Richmond Public Schools. The school division conducted an investigation into Hathaway before he left the role, but kept most details of the investigation secret by heavily redacting documents before releasing them in response to Freedom of Information Act requests.

“The documents in question do not contain data, facts or statements that are of a private nature,” [Judge Tracy] Thorne-Begland wrote in his decision. “They contain allegations of malfeasance, discrimination, and favoritism by public employees and the investigative steps and conclusions reached by the board in reviewing the allegations.”

State and local agencies, including public universities, use the same “personnel” dodge across the state. Hopefully, other judges will follow Thorne-Begland’s ruling in making the Freedom of Information Act a tool for government transparency.