Tooele School District holds student safety records behind $6,651.05 paywall

A judge will ultimately decide whether it’s fair for the Tooele County School District to charge thousands of dollars for public records related to teachers who have already been disciplined for bullying, abusing, or sexually abusing children.

Fox 13 Investigates

Here’s the list of disciplined teachers FOX 13 has found so far

Adam Herbets

The district agreed the disciplinary records are public, but it will not release the documents unless FOX 13 News pays a series of proposed fees. The station is appealing the decision in district court.

• Bullying – $950.15 
• Cyber Bullying – $950.15 
• Retaliation – $950.15 
• Grooming – $950.15 
• Boundary Violations – $950.15 
• Violence with Student – $950.15 
• Sexual Conduct – $950.15 

State lawmakers expressed disappointment with the district’s lack of transparency.

“I don’t know why the records would cost that much money!” said Rep. Nicholeen Peck, R-Tooele. “If the districts don’t want to share with the public what’s happening, that doesn’t look very good for the district.”

Prior to running for office, Peck provided therapeutic treatment care for teens who were abused.

She believes students are increasingly falling victim to “heavy sexual assault and violence and rape” at school, citing data from the United States Department of Education.

Without the release of these records, it’s unclear how often these types of cases occur within the Tooele County School District. The district stated it would not begin to even search for cases unless FOX 13 News pays a deposit.

Peck said she believes the district may be trying to shield disciplined teachers from criticism.

“We have to keep the children safe,” Peck said. “When I look at the issue and I think of protection of teacher vs. protection of children? That’s just – there's no comparison there.”

Data from the Utah State Board of Education shows several cases, as outlined below, in which a Tooele County School District educator was disciplined at the state level. It’s unclear what discipline, if any, occurred at the district level.

• Case number 1949 – "Educator opened a personal email, which contained a video of a woman masturbating. Educator was unaware that the computer was connected to classroom displays and several students were exposed to the video." USBE issued a reprimand to the educator’s license.
  
• Case number 1983 – "School counselor gave non-approved material about sexual readiness and unplanned pregnancy to a student without parental consent. The student was seeking information about pregnancy for a friend." USBE issued a warning to the educator’s license.
  
• Case number 1991 – "Educator placed a camera in his stepdaughter's bathroom. Educator pled guilty to class B Misdemeanors, Voyeurism and Obstruction of Justice." USBE accepted the voluntary surrender of the educator’s license.
  
• Case number 2013 – "Educator used materials that alluded to racial issues and gun rights that were found to be outside of the curriculum. The materials were not approved by (Tooele County School District)." USBE issued a warning to the educator’s license.
  
• Case number 1920 – "Educator was observed smelling of marijuana, exhibiting red, watery eyes, and acting "out of it." A drug test days later tested positive for marijuana." USBE issued a warning to the educator’s license.

Peck said she believes parents are the first line of defense and that every parent in every district has a right to know what’s going on in their kids’ taxpayer-funded schools.

She also said it’s difficult (or impossible) for parents to recognize patterns of repeat behavior if the records are not made public.

“There’s a point where things have to come into the light. They have to be made public. Otherwise, when will it stop?” Peck said. “Can we put the children first?”

Tooele County School District said it would cost thousands of dollars to produce disciplinary records because of its paper filing system and the need to review each personnel file individually.

Peck said releasing the records for free would benefit the public.

State law encourages the government to provide records “without charge” when the request is for the benefit of the public.

Tooele County School District Superintendent Mark Ernst stated he believes the district is not required to consider the public benefit in releasing records.

Meanwhile, documents show the district is paying its own attorneys tens of thousands of dollars for helping responding to requests for public records.

“I want to give them the benefit of the doubt, but I’ve got to say... That doesn’t look good!” Peck said. “I don’t even know why a district would be afraid of being transparent. They shouldn’t be hiding anything, ever. They’re working with children. That’s the most vulnerable population.”

Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, knows firsthand how difficult it can be to get public records from the government. Aside from serving as a legislator, Weiler also works as an attorney.

“I’ve been shocked, dismayed, and disappointed at how hard some of our government agencies fight to keep things secret,” he said.

For that reason, Weiler has openly expressed his own frustrations with the way government agencies enforce Utah’s public records laws.

“So many government agencies try to make it so difficult, so time consuming, and so costly, that they hope people just go away,” Weiler said. “A lot of people do go away.”

People who are “persistent” are “labeled as, somehow, a troublemaker because you’re trying to get these records that are supposed to be public in the first place,” he added. “To me, that’s irritating and annoying.”

Separate from our interview with Weiler, another attorney at his firm agreed to represent FOX 13 News in court.

Tooele County School District has declined requests for an on-camera interview.