Rogers, a former Missoula County Public Schools trustee, and Molly Moody, one of two plaintiffs in a lawsuit recently filed against the Missoula County Public Schools District 1, came to Helena on Wednesday seeking information, communications, financial records and other documents from the Montana School Boards Association.
A secretary with the association did not take the pair's impromptu request Wednesday, and told them to schedule an appointment with one of its lawyers or leave a written list of the documents they want. The duo did neither.
Association director Lance Melton said the association is a private, nonprofit organization and doesn't have to - and won't - open its files to the general public.
"We're not going to share information on correspondences," Melton said. "We're not going to (violate) attorney-client privilege."
Melton said the association would share what the nonprofit is legally obligated to share, such as tax information and a list of its directors, but won't offer up other documents. Melton said the association is home to much private information, since it manages workers' compensation for 95 percent of Montana's school district employees.
But Molly Moody, a self-described "concerned citizen" who recently sued the Missoula County Public Schools for allegedly violating open meetings laws, said the association should operate like a public agency since it runs, in part, on public funds.
Voluntary membership dues from school districts across the state make up 28 percent of the association's annual revenue.
Moody said she wants to see communications between the association and Missoula County Public Schools administrators to see what kind of advice the association is giving them regarding open meetings and freedom of information laws.
Moody was one of two people to sue the Missoula school district in April after administrators allegedly decided to close three schools this fall while ensconced in private budget meetings. The lawsuit asks the Missoula District Court to void the board's decision to close the schools because of the alleged violations of open meetings laws.
The meetings were held without public notice or agendas and minutes were not taken. The case is still pending.
"I believe it's the philosophy the Montana School Boards Association holds that some information shouldn't be open to the public," Moody said.
Moody and Rogers want a laundry list of documents from the association, including copies of all correspondence between the association and a handful of school districts, including the Missoula County School District and the Powell County School District.
Melton, who said he didn't even know the women were in the building until after they left, said the pair would have been more successful if they had made an appointment with him or his staff.
Moody and Rogers are not sure how they're going to get the documents they want, but they said they aren't going to stop trying.
"This is valuable information I want to get," Rogers said.
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