The McMinn County Board of Education on Wednesday still had not provided a copy of a complaint or other documentation explaining what led to a discussion Jan. 10 and unanimous vote on the removal of Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer-prize winning graphic novel “Maus: A Survivor’s Tale” from the eighth-grade curriculum.
The Times Free Press first asked for the documents Jan. 28 but has received no response from the school system eight business days later, which could be viewed as a violation of the Tennessee Open Records Act, according to Deborah Fisher, executive director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government.
“State law requires that a custodian fulfill a public records request promptly, but if the records cannot be compiled promptly, to respond to a request within seven business days and let the requester know when the government entity can reasonably produce the records,” Fisher said Wednesday in an email. “But they can’t ignore the request. They must respond within seven business days.”
Failure to respond can be seen legally as a denial of the request, and a person who is denied a public record can sue and potentially be awarded attorney’s fees, Fisher said.
Attempts Wednesday to reach McMinn County Director of Schools Lee Parkison by phone and email were unsuccessful.