Campus School

An attempt by The Murfreesboro Post to obtain access to public documents under the Tennessee Public Records Act resulted in a reporter being forced from school property and denied rightful access by Rutherford County School Board Spokesman James Evans and Campus School Principal Chontel Bridgeman.

According to Frank Gibson, executive director of Tennessee’s Coalition for Open Government and a former editor of The Tennessean, the actions of Evans and Bridgeman constitute a “flagrant” violation of Tennessee’s public records laws.

“As a former Daily News Journal reporter and a trained public records official for Rutherford County Schools, James Evans knows better,” Gibson said.

The School Board is facing a court order by Chancellor Robert Corlew III to produce four consecutive voided checks in their entirety from Campus School accounts. This comes after the board continued to produce altered copies of the checks with all signatures removed.

Bridgeman admitted to writing the checks in an earlier deposition.

She also said in a previous interview signing blank checks is a regular practice at the school, even though a School Board policy manual provided by Assistant Superintendent Jeff Sandvig states in bold, “Checks must not be signed in advance of their preparation and issuance.”

Campus School parent Tracy Pack originally requested the checks last year as part of an Open Records Request, but the board did not produce copies until he filed suit in May 2011.

In August, Corlew ordered the School Board to produce the checks to the court with signatures included. He also ordered a second deposition of Bridgeman, because she refused to answer many of the questions in the original deposition, at taxpayer expense.

However, the School Board yet again produced to the court copies of the checks with signatures obliterated and an affidavit signed by Sandvig stating the signature lines of the original checks and carbon copies had been physically torn off “by an unnamed member of his staff” by mistake.

Evans said the signatures were redacted because of a state policy.

“According to the state accounting manual, the signature line on voided checks is ripped off as a security measure. These were done to the originals, which is why the copies don’t show a signature line,” he said.

However, no such state policy exists anywhere in the state accounting manual regarding carbon copies, said Sandvig, who handles accounting procedures for the School Board.

In a legal response filed last week, Pack and his attorney, Theodore W. Goodman, accuse the School Board of continuing to act in bad faith and “shirking its duty” to justify its actions by refusing to produce the voided checks in their entirety to the court.

In an attempt to verify the school board’s assertion that the original checks had been altered by mistake, a representative from The Post called the Campus School office at noon Tuesday and informed Bridgeman’s secretary a reporter would be arriving at 2 p.m. to view the original checks in accordance with Tennessee’s Public Records Act.

Additionally, The Post asked Bridgeman to call and reschedule if this time was problematic.

Neither Bridgeman nor the school board returned The Post’s calls.

When the reporter arrived, Sandvig was waiting in the Campus School lobby and said he was there to “assist in the process.”

Sandvig requested Bridgeman’s staff to produce the checks, but Bridgeman emerged from her office and said her staff did not have time to “look for all that stuff.”

State law asserts public records should be available for public inspection.

Specifically section 503 a(2)(A) of the Tennessee Public Records Act states, “All state, county, and municipal records shall, at all times during business hours, be open for inspection by any citizen of this state, and those in charge of the records shall not refuse such right of inspection to any citizen.”

When asked why she did not call and reschedule, Bridgeman responded she never received The Post’s message from her secretary.

However, Evans later admitted Bridgeman had earlier that day sent an e-mail informing him a reporter from The Post “was coming at 2 o’clock.”

Bridgeman then disappeared into her office and Sandvig informed the reporter he had to leave for a staff meeting.

When asked again to produce the records, Bridgeman told the reporter to leave.

She picked up an office phone, called Evans, and told the reporter to discuss the matter with him.

Evans identified himself as the “public records compliance officer,” and said no records would be produced without written request seven days in advance.

After an hour of waiting, the reporter questioned why written request was required suddenly and why Sandvig did not outline the proper procedure.

“I discussed the matter with Mr. Sandvig, but I am the sole authority in matters of public records,” Evans responded. He also did not respond when asked why no one called The Post about this requirement after a previous message had been left with the Campus School secretary.

When informed his refusal specifically violated state law, Evans did not respond.

Evans then ordered the reporter to leave, and Bridgeman threatened to call police.

The reporter left the school when students went home for the day.

The same day, The Post submitted a written request to view the checks. The request was honored the next morning when Evans faxed copies of the checks, which had the signature lines removed.

Also, Bridgeman spoke with Michelle Willard, managing editor of The Post, to complain about the incident.

She also said she had no knowledge of the checks and the school’s “bookkeeper didn’t have time to look” for them.

“The Murfreesboro Post acted in good faith and made reasonable accommodations for lawful inspection of these records,” Gibson said. “By refusing to comply with the Tennessee Public Records Act, Evans and Bridgeman have put Rutherford County taxpayers on the hook for all litigation costs arising from this incident.”

So far, no effort has been made by Bridgeman or her attorney to schedule her court-ordered second deposition.

The Post will continue to report developments.

Note: The bolded sections was added as a clarification.