Our Letter to Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott Taking Issue with BISD Rationale for Denying Our Public Information Request

From the editor:  As we reported our Public Information Request to BISD asking for copies of two independent reports on the cause or cause of two school bus fires within a week was not granted.

Instead, we were informed via certified letter that BISD had sought an Attorney General opinion concerning the release of information.

Subsequently, we received a copy of a letter from Staff Attorney Miguel Salinas to the Office of the Texas Attorney General, citing relevant portions of the Texas Government Code including the "Litigation exception."

Part of Salinas argument to the AG focused on "contemplated litigation."  My view is that "contemplated litigation" could be used to deny any and all Public Information Requests.  

Contemplated litigation is not the same as initiated litigation.  It's already been over one year since the first school bus fire mentioned by Salinas in his letter to the AG.  

Meanwhile, BISD has released no information to reassure parents and taxpayers that corrective action has been taken to prevent another fire.  

Certain school board trustees focused on the specific manufacturer of the buses that caught fire, the International Corporation, and made it known that a recent order of 72 buses was from another manufacturer, as if that decision alone protects the students.(Actually, BISD's school bus fleet is still predominately from the International Corporation.)

But, what if the cause of the fires has nothing to do with the manufacturer of the buses, but is something else?  Without the reports, we will never know if corrective action has been taken.

I decided that, rather than simply waiting for the AG opinion,  a more pro-active approach could be taken.  Below is my letter to TexasAttorney General Greg Abbott:






Honorable Greg Abbott
Office of the Texas Attorney General
300 W. 15th Street
Austin, TX 78701


Dear General Abbott:


My Public Information Request to the Brownsville Independent School District No. 7630 has been forwarded to your office for a ruling.


My request was to receive copies of two reports regarding the cause or causes of two BISD school bus fires within a single week in October 2013 involving 30 and 29 students respectively. One report was prepared by an independent team hired by theInternational Corporation, Navistar, the manufacturer of the buses involved. The other report was prepared by an independent inspector or inspection team hired by BISD.


Ten business days after my request I received a letter from BISD Staff Attorney Miguel Salinas informing me of that an Attorney General opinion was being sought. Fifteen business days after my request I received a letter citing the Litigation Exception from the Texas Government Code as a suggested basis for not granting my request.


In the DISCUSSION section of the second letter dated June 18, 2014, Staff Attorney Salinas mentions the two October fires and yet another fire, April 10, 2013. Then Salinas states: "First, Litigation had been contemplated since the November 2014 draft report(I assume he meant November 2013) was received and long before the subject request of May 29, 2014. Secondly the information at issue is intricately and specifically linked to the contemplated litigation."


With all due respect, "contemplated litigation" could be used to deny every single Public Information Request. Obviously, no litigation has actually been initiated, not with regard to the two October 2013 school bus fires, not the earlier April 2013 fire. BISD has released no information reassuring parents or taxpayers that correction action has been taken to prevent recurrence.


Respectfully,


Jim Barton