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Urbana board adopts district FOIA fee schedule after questions about file resolution and staff time
Summary
The board reviewed and approved a public-records fee schedule consistent with state statute, and discussed implementing a published log of staff time and legal costs associated with requests.
The Urbana School District board reviewed and approved a formal fee schedule for access to district public records that district staff said aligns with Illinois statutes and common practice among comparable districts.
John (district records/FOIA officer) told the board the proposed schedule formalizes fees the district may charge for voluminous requests and commercial requests and implements limits consistent with state law. When a board member raised a concern about charging by megabytes for digital files — and whether resolution could change the file size and therefore the fee — John said, "We do not alter it. We do not create anything new. We give it as how we have it." The FOIA officer also cited the state standard for "voluminous" requests (requests that require compiling more than 500 pages or multiple large categories of records).
Board members also asked whether the district could track and publish the internal staff hours and legal fees spent responding to FOIA requests. John said internal staff time could be tracked and reported, but legal invoices may be reported only after they are received; legal costs would appear in a follow-up report at a later meeting.
The fee schedule was placed on the meeting consent agenda and approved as part of the adopted consent agenda; the board did not change the policy language during the study session. Staff said the schedule formalizes practices previously handled under the FOIA Act but not previously posted as an official district fee schedule.
