By Dane Anderson, Staff Writer

A local lawyer has written a letter to the Texas Attorney General’s Office complaining about theEanes school district’s public information practices.

A Nov. 19 letter to Attorney General Greg Abbott sent by Leonard Smith, an attorney with the Brown McCarroll law firm, alleges that Eanes violated the Texas Public Information Act in the way administrators responded to an Oct. 9 request for information the firm made on behalf of Smith’s clients Jimmy and Gretchen Evans. The public information request asked for documents, e-mails, voice mails and audio recordings pertaining to a student disciplinary action and the district’s decision-making process regarding a possible violation of the Student Code of Conduct. 

In his letter, Smith claimed the district did not comply with his request or ask for a decision from the AG’s office as to whether they could comply within the time frame set up in the Public Information Act. 

“To the contrary, EISD personnel, including EISD’s superintendent, actively concealed or attempted to destroy requested public information in violation of the Public Information Act,” Smith claimed in his Nov. 19 letter. 

Eanes communications director Dale Whitaker disagreed, saying the request for information had been filled within the appropriate time frame.

“The district firmly disagrees with the points of the complaint, and currently legal counsel is preparing a response to the Attorney General’s Office providing supporting information,” said Whitaker. “This is regarding an open records request that was previously filled by the district and involves issues regarding the timing, redacting and completeness.” 

In his correspondence to the AG’s Office, Smith characterized a deeper problem. He said that the PIA is very clear in its intent that Eanes superintendent Nola Wellman is obligated to make public information available for public inspection and obligated to carefully protect public information from loss or unlawful removal.

“EISD’s superintendent intentionally purged relevant e-mails, voice mails and audio recordings from her e-mail account immediately after their creation and did not produce this information promptly upon request,” Smith stated in his letter. “In fact, EISD only produced the information when challenged with knowledge of its existence. Until challenged, EISD had made no effort to secure or produce the requested e-mails, voice mails or audio recordings, apparently in an attempt to conceal their existence.”

Smith maintains that the alleged purging of voice mail audio recordings by EISD violated not only the PIA, but the Education Code and the district’s own Student Discipline Policy, Student and Parent Grievances Policy and Records Control Schedule on file with the Texas State Library. He said that once litigation is anticipated, a suspension of all record destruction should have been enacted by the school district.

Smith said that he plans to file a complaint with the Eanes school board concerning the district’s failure to comply with its obligations under the PIA and its Record Management Policies. 

“I have not seen the complaint,” Eanes school board president Jim Strickland said. “Because the district is in the process of formulating a reply, to comment at this time would be premature. I know that Dr. Wellman and her staff have a strong system in place for handling requests for public information and complying with the Texas Public Information Act.”

Tom Kelley, a public information officer for the AG’s Office, said the agency has until Jan. 26 to make a decision as to whether or not the district should provide documents to fulfill the original information request and whether any information within those documents should be redacted from public view. 

The AG’s Office will likely also rule on the question as to whether or not the request for a ruling filed by the school district complied with state law.