The Farmington school district improperly withheld a complete copy of its superintendent's contract from a resident who asked for the data, according to a state advisory opinion issued this week.
Farmington school superintendent's contract not a secret, state says
A resident, curious when he heard criticism of the contract, asked to see it. But his request was denied.
By SARAH LEMAGIE, Star Tribune
August 28, 2008 at 5:16AM
Farmington resident Tim Burke, a school board candidate and vocal critic of district leaders, was entitled to a full, uncensored copy of the document under state law, the Minnesota Department of Administration said Tuesday.
District spokesman Aaron Tinklenberg said Wednesday that the district will release the contract to Burke.
"Our goal was to comply with state statute and at the same time, protect the district and district employees," he said.
Burke initially asked for a copy of Superintendent Brad Meeks' contract in early 2007, but the district denied the request, saying the information was private personnel data.
The district later gave Burke a redacted copy that blacked out about half of the data in the three-year contract, which runs through next summer.
The missing data included information such as Meeks' basic work year, per diem salary and provisions for termination and severance pay, according to the department.
In July, Meeks -- acting as an individual -- provided Burke with a copy of his contract, but the district continued to deny Burke access to the complete document.
Some personnel data related to government employees are private, but the superintendent's contract is public data, the department said. Burke said he e-mailed the district Wednesday asking again for the contract.
Burke said he first became curious about the document after reading a 2006 Star Tribune story in which the state auditor said Meeks' contract was hard to understand and hid information about how much the Farmington superintendent really makes -- an assessment the district called unfair and misleading.
And "when someone says you can't have something, that's when you really want it," Burke said Wednesday.
In 2007, Burke led opposition to a school bond referendum that proposed building a $24 million "Sports and Wellness" addition to the new Farmington High School, which is currently under construction. The measure was defeated by nearly 70 percent of voters.
Sarah Lemagie • 952-882-9016
