Voucher supporter files suit over records

Administrators' group says data not public

A leader of the state's pro-school-voucher group has accused the South Carolina Association of School Administrators of violating the state's Freedom of Information Act by refusing to grant access to its records.

Randy Page, president of South Carolinians for Responsible Government, filed a lawsuit Tuesday claiming that the statewide association is a public body and should be required to comply with state law.

The motivation behind the suit is the administrators' ties to the Leaders in Education Administration Political Action Committee, which was formed to raise money to support lawmakers who support education and oppose vouchers and tuition tax credits.

The PAC shares the same address and telephone number as the administrators' association, and that connection raises the possibility that some public money may have gone to its political activities, said Kevin Hall, an attorney representing Page. Page's primary concern in the suit, however, was that a body that expends public funds should be accountable to the public, Hall said.

The suit is the latest saga in the ongoing battle over whether the state should allow vouchers or tuition tax credits. Despite the strategic and well-funded efforts of South Carolinians for Responsible Government, lawmakers have declined to pass legislation that would move public money into the private education sector.

Page's pro-voucher group is involved in a separate lawsuit in federal court against disclosure of its records. His group's case accuses the State Ethics Commission of violating its First Amendment rights after the commission threatened punishment for not filing as a political action committee and submitting the required expenditure disclosure forms. The pro-voucher group says it is not a political action committee.

In the new lawsuit against the school administrators association, Page is arguing for the school administrators' association to make its records available. He made a request under the Freedom of Information Act in August of last year about the association's relationship to the PAC. The association refused to comply with the request.

The administrators' association argued that the law applies only to a public body, which is a group that is supported by or spends public money. The association said it is supported by membership dues, while attorneys for Page said school districts reimburse their employees for the association's dues and costs incurred while attending its meetings or events.

Representatives from the school administrators association could not be reached for comment.

The lawsuit could have implications for groups that are similarly set up and funded like the administrators' association, such as the state association of counties. Jay Bender, attorney for the South Carolina Press Association, said that this could be an important case if it leads to more openness in government.

It's likely that the Association of School Administrators will be found to be a public body because it is supported with public money and its members are school employees, Bender said. He's been involved in similar cases involving the school boards association and the state high school league, and in the latter, a judge found that the league was a public body because it was supported with public money, he said.

Reach Diette Courrégé at 937-5546 or dcourrege@post andcourier.com.