JOHN MILLER Associated Press Writer
BOISE, Idaho Nearly 2,000 school districts and local governments in Idaho and at least five other states, including Montana, are being targeted by foes of big government, who think taxpayerfunded resources such as computers are being used improperly in political campaigns. Sweeping, three-page public records requests have also been made in Montana, Nebraska, Arizona and Michigan, said Laird Maxwell, a Boise activist involved with groups behind property rights or government-limiting initiatives up for a vote in those states. In Nevada, agencies could receive records requests this week, the groups said. Some officials call this a disruptive fishing expedition aimed at taxing scarce resources. They’ve done nothing wrong, they insist. In Montana, the request has hit a number of school districts. The state Office of Public Instruction says records requests have come in asking for such things as policies on computers and any specific e-mails any employees may have sent regarding a proposed state spending cap, Constitutional Initative 97. Maxwell demands that Idaho schools, cities and counties furnish all employee e-mails since 2005 that mention Proposition 1, which would boost funding by $210 million a year, and Proposition 2, to require governments to pay property owners when new development regulations lower the value of their land. After raising $330,000 from Montana- and New York-based limitedgovernment groups earlier this year to help qualify Proposition 2 for Idaho’s Nov. 7 ballot., Maxwell now aims to prove educators and government officials have been campaigning on the taxpayer’s dime. “This is dark work,” Maxwell said. “When they go out and campaign for or against the initiative, or give the illusion of campaigning for or against an issue, and when they do it on taxpayer dollars, there should be balance.”
Paul Jacob, a Virginia limited- government advocate who heads Citizens in Charge, and Chris Kliesmet, with Citizens for Responsible Government in Milwaukee, are helping. “I hope it has a deterrent effect, that people will wake up and say, This isn’t right,’ so that it will prevent actions that are against the law,” Jacob told The Associated Press. “Within a few months, we’ll have many more states.” Maxwell’s request, under a law requiring public access to many government records, also demands all correspondence with phrases including “petition blockers” and “truth squad,” as well as communications about possible student “sleepovers” at schools on election days. The education-funding initiative is backed by the Idaho Education Association, the teacher’s union, while Maxwell’s property rights initiative is being fought by the Idaho Association of Counties and the Association of Idaho Cities, who are concerned it could gut landuse planning efforts. Though Maxwell wants search fees to be waived, officials say the sheer volume of research could swamp school and government employees already hard-pressed to do their jobs. “Cities and counties right now are generally working to their limits,” said Jerry Mason, an attorney for the Association of Idaho Cities and several northern Idaho municipalities. “It’s very difficult to set aside your day’s work to respond to an extensive public records request that’s to be dispatched to Milwaukee.” Some Idaho school districts, including Coeur d’Alene and Boise, are coordinating a response through their lawyers, said Harry Amend, the Coeur d’Alene superintendent. Such scrutiny in political campaigns is nothing new, Amend said. “Most communities have people in them interested in making sure public entities honor that line,” he said. “When we put together our brochures, our fact sheets (or) anything that is produced by the school district and provided to the public, we always have our legal counsel check off on that and give it a clean bill of health.” Campaigners for the education initiative, including teachers and PTA members, have also been cautioned, said Ryan Hill, a spokesman. “We’ve been very clear from day one, the minute we started gathering petitions, to do everything possible, whether it’s teachers talking to teachers or parents talking to teachers, that those activities happen before or after school,” he said. Maxwell’s request, he said, “Is at best a fishing expedition, and at worst a wild goose chase.” The Kimberly School District, in southern Idaho, plans to honor the request, but says it’s struggling to search its records in a timely way, while still protecting confidential information. The district must go through 400,000 e-mails, said Superintendent John Garner. “We’ve never been asked for something this broad,” he said. Maxwell says the information should be just a keystroke away. “They’re stonewalling us,” he said. “Either we have transparent government or we don’t.”
