Illinois attorney general: District 15 did not violate FOIA laws

The Illinois attorney general's office this week issued a determination that Palatine Township Elementary District 15 did not violate any Freedom of Information Act laws in denying an April 13 Daily Herald request for a copy of the Classroom Teachers' Council Professional Agreement 2016-2026.

The Daily Herald submitted the request for the contract after the board unanimously approved the 10-year agreement that promises 2.5 percent raises for the contract's first four years and 4 percent raises for the final six years.

District 15 officials said a final written contract did not exist at the time the FOIA request was made and argued that made it exempt. Board members said they saw a summary of the contract terms, not the actual contract, before approving the agreement.

"How can you vote to approve a document that doesn't exist, or only exists in someone's mind?" Don Craven, general counsel of the Illinois Press Association, said Friday.

He added without the contract documents, it can be unclear whether both the district and teachers union approved the same terms.

Assistant Attorney General Matt Hartman wrote that "this office has not received any information indicating that a written contract existed at the time of the requests. Accordingly, we conclude that the district's responses to … FOIA requests did not violate FOIA."

District 15 Superintendent Scott Thompson said Friday in a written statement, "The district is committed to sharing information to keep the public informed of our activities in pursuit of our goal to provide the best education possible for the students we serve. We are committed to providing the Daily Herald and other media outlets with documents and information that will help them report the accurate accounts of the school district's business."