Sunshine Law Complaint Filed Against U City Schools

A complaint alleging the School District of University City violated the state Sunshine Law has been filed with the Missouri Attorney General’s office. 

University City resident Tom Sullivan filed the complaint, alleging a "considerable effort is being made to keep public records from him."

According to a press release from Sullivan, the school district has "constantly delayed making copies available and wants more than $100 for basic records."

Sullivan's release also states he was charged the following fees for records:

• $66.04 for a list of school district administrators and their salaries;
• $22.04 for recent e-mails between the board’s assistant and the co-chairs of the campaign for Proposition U, the bond issue proposal on the April 2 ballot.
• $25.26 for two reports given at a recent school board meeting. 

The School District issued the following statement to University City Patch regarding the complaint:

The District follows its procedure when responding to Missouri Sunshine Law requests for materials. We try to process requests within a timely manner in compliance with the law.

The Missouri Attorney General's office has received the complaint and told Patch it will process the complaint in a timely fashion, in the order in which it was received. 

Assistant Attorney General Patricia Churchill said that Sullivan's complaint was received and the AG's office has notified District.

"Any time a complaint like this is submitted to our office, we let the government entity know that a complaint was filed," she said. 

Churchill said she did not have a timeline for when the AG's office would review the complaint. 

Sullivan has been involved in public policy matters for several years. He was one of five residents to file suit against the City of University City in 2011. He also filed an ethics complaint against the St. Louis County Library in 2012.

Sunshine Week

March 10-16 is 2013 Sunshine Week.

In honor of Sunshine Week, Missouri Attorney General Chris Kosterreleased the top five questions and concerns the Attorney General’s Office fielded about the Sunshine Law in 2012.

The AG's Office has a web site devoted to the Missouri Sunshine Law for the public to review.

See more on Patch:

• U City Man Files Ethics Complaint Against County Library
• Residents Dismiss Lawsuit Against University City
• U City Resident Responds to Criticism from St. Louis County Council
• Ethics Complaint Dismissed Against Councilmember Kraft
• County Councilmembers Hit Back at Criticism by U City Resident
• Five U City Residents File Suit Against City of U City Alleging Sunshine Violations; Ask That Hiring of City Manager be Voided