Hiding Homan’s Contract Gets No Traction with Governor, Legislators

Last updated on 2011.09.22

Call Governor Dennis Daugaard's budget "half-assed," and he appears unlikely to forget. Following the Sioux Falls School District's law-stretching decision to hide superintendent Pam Homan's five-year, gold-plated contract from the teaxpayers, Governor Daugaard's office is making pretty clear that Homan's contract should be public.

As Mr. Mercer points out, Governor Daugaard has weighed in on Twitter:

Every public employee contract should be an open record, and I would sign legislation to make that very clear [@SDGovDaugaard, 2011.09.19].

The Governor then retweets four other articles on his statement and openness in the Sioux Falls School District (from Megan Luther, Bob Mercer, Josh Verges, and the TV).

But you don't have to have called someone in Pierre "half-assed" to catch heck for a lack of accountability to the public. The Verges article finds Rep. Nick Moser (R-18/Yankton), Senator Mar Johnston (R-12/Sioux Falls), Senator Angie Buhl (D-15/Sioux Falls), Senator Todd Schlekeway (R-11/Sioux Falls), Rep. Gene Abdallah (R-10/Sioux Falls), and Senator Joni Cutler (R-14/Sioux Falls) all agreeing that the terms of public employment ought to be public. Only Cutler defends the existing open records statute, deftly carving semi-neutral ground for herself by saying "It's up to the locals to make it work."

The Sioux Falls School District evidently needs to work harder to make the following statute work:

...The provisions of §§ 1-27-1 to 1-27-1.15, inclusive, and 1-27-4 shall be liberally construed whenever any state, county, or political subdivision fiscal records, audit, warrant, voucher, invoice, purchase order, requisition, payroll, check, receipt, or other record of receipt, cash, or expenditure involving public funds is involved in order that the citizens of this state shall have the full right to know of and have full access to information on the public finances of the government and the public bodies and entities created to serve them... [SDCL 1-27-1.3].

The Sioux Falls School District may also want to note that, even if they claim the taxpayers can't look at the superintendent's contract, the taxpayers can look at her employment application and related materials. SDCL 1-27-1.5 (item 15) makes clear that such documents "submitted by individuals hired into executive or policymaking positions of any public body" are public documents.

Sioux Falls School District, the straightforward intent of South Dakota's open records law and the sentiment of the governor, the Legislature, and the taxpayers are not on your side. You should put out the fire and release the contract to the people paying the bills.

Update 2011.09.21 06:06 MDT: The Watertown Public Opinion editorial board calls the Sioux Falls School District's choice "unhealthy arrogance."