Mackinac Center sues Flint Community Schools

The Mackinac Center for Public Policy has sued Flint Community Schools for failing to fulfill a Freedom of Information Act request.

The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation filed the suit April 30 on behalf of Michigan Capitol Confidential after the school district failed to fulfill a Feb. 17 FOIA request for records on expenditures for out-of-state travel by district staff in 2023 and 2024.

State law requires public bodies to respond to record requests within five business days, which would have been Feb. 24. When CapCon asked for an update March 11, a district official responded via email that district staff were “working on it.”

The district could face thousands of dollars in fines over its non-response to the request.

Under the Freedom of Information Act, the Flint school district could either provide the information, deny the request, or respond that it is taking a 10-day extension. But it did not comply with the law, according to Steve Delie, a Mackinac Center expert on public records.

“By not properly responding to the Mackinac Center’s records request, Flint Community Schools failed to fulfill even the most basic of obligations under the Freedom of Information Act,” Delie wrote in an email. “This lawsuit shouldn’t be necessary, and it represents yet another clear example of how Michigan governments resist transparency.”

The Mackinac Center’s legal arm, on the same day, requested legal compliance with the state’s FOIA fulfillment timeline. The district did not respond.

The lawsuit reads in part:

“FCS’ failure to respond to the Center’s request is arbitrary and capricious under MCL 15.240(7), thereby subjecting it to a civil fine of $1,000.00 payable to the general treasury and a separate $1,000.00 to the Mackinac Center. FCS’ failure to respond as required by MCL 15.235(2) constitutes a willful and intentional failure to comply under MCL 15.240b, thereby subjecting it to a civil fine of $2,500 to $7,500 payable to the state treasury.”

CapCon has filed more than 100 record requests this year. If you know of public information that needs sunlight, let us know.