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District Says Surge in Public Records Requests Is Straining Staff Time and Costs
Summary
A senior HR official told the board May 13 that public-records requests have risen sharply, requiring more staff time, redaction and legal support; the district projects a large year‑over‑year increase and highlighted operational impacts.
Evergreen Public Schools told the Board of Directors on May 13 that a sharp increase in public‑records requests is consuming staff time, creating redaction costs and prompting greater legal involvement.
Senior director Tracy Thompson presented the human‑resources briefing and said the district is tracking a rise in requests and the associated workload. Thompson told the board that public‑records requests for the September–April period are up about 52% compared with the prior year and that the district is “on track to receive [a] 106% increase in requests this year over the 2023–24 school year.”
Thompson outlined operational effects: the district’s paralegal, identified as the public‑records officer, handles PRA requests in addition to insurance claims, incident reports and court documents; substantial requests can require multi‑hour in‑person viewings and email searches that occupy IT staff while reports run. Thompson said complex requests commonly include broad terms such as “all records sent or received by X for the months and years,” which increases the volume of records to search, review and redact before production.
Thompson described mitigation steps already taken: dedicated laptops for IT staff running searches, and separate legal billing entries beginning in November to capture legal costs associated with PRA responses. She said those investments reflect both staff time and external legal fees required to ensure compliant responses.
At least one board member noted district legal invoices tied to public‑records work; a board member observed an invoice for redaction work of about $31,000 for a single month, which the board member said appeared to be tied to public‑records activity. The district did not provide a full accounting in the May 13 presentation.
Thompson emphasized that requests divert employees from their primary duties: principals, assistant principals, deans, security and teachers spend time producing records, and reductions in staff elsewhere make it difficult to reassign workload. She also said some requests require legal review for exemptions or redactions, adding to cost and time.
The board did not take immediate policy action at the May 13 meeting; Thompson’s presentation flagged operational impacts and suggested continued monitoring and resource decisions would be necessary if trends continue.
