Lawmaker leads suit against LR schools

Civil-rights attorney and state Rep. John Walker, D-Little Rock, is the plaintiff in a new lawsuit against the Little Rock School District and some of its leaders over information Walker requested June 5 and has yet to receive.

The lawsuit, assigned to Pulaski County Circuit Judge Collins Kilgore, was prepared by attorney Bridgette Frazier. The defendants are Little Rock Interim Superintendent Marvin Burton and David Hartz, who is retiring as the district’s senior director of human resources.

“Eight days after the plaintiff’s request, the attorney for the LRSD emailed the plaintiff ’s assistant informing her that the material was not ready, and would not be ready for at least another week,” the lawsuit said.

“At no time did the defendants claim that the materials were exempt [from the Freedom of Information Act],” the suit said. “Further, the defendants did not claim that any of the records were in active use or storage.”

The lawsuit asks that district officials be ordered toprovide the requested public records.

Attached to the lawsuit is the June 5 e-mail to the district requesting a dozen different pieces of information. That included a request for a list of all principal and assistant principal vacancies since Jan. 1, 2011; the applicant pool for each of those vacancies; and the criteria for selecting persons to be interviewed.

Walker also requested a list of all people who applied for other administrative positions in the district since January 2011, including directors, coordinators and coaches.

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 16 on 06/23/2013

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