Midland woman sues public schools over document charges for records

A Midland resident has sued Midland Public Schools over charges associated with record requests, according to a lawsuit filed on July 2, 2024.

Renita Bonadies has paid more than $1,000 for public school records over four years, including meeting agendas that schools typically distribute for free, she told Michigan Capitol Confidential in a Zoom interview.

Bonadies asked the district for six months of meeting agendas. The district billed her $114.68 on Dec. 14, 2023, but a June 12, 2024, response raised the cost to $305.62.

The fee increase was meant to stop her from getting public documents, Bondadies told CapCon.

She’s attended school board meetings for almost four years and also frequently attends county commission meetings. Bonadies moved to Midland 13 years ago.

“Our hill to die on is to hold public servants accountable for what they were elected to do,” Bondadies said.

Midland Public Schools doesn’t comment on pending litigation, district spokesperson Katie Guyer told CapCon in an email.

Bonadies has no children currently attending the school, but her parents were schoolteachers.

The school isn’t being transparent with record requests, Bonadies said. She believes the school is withholding an email about her, she said.

“How honest are they when they give us FOIA results, and what is it the public can do about what’s going on?” Bondadies said.

The lawsuit filed in the 42nd Circuit Court for Midland County is in the discovery process now, according to Thomas J. Lambert, an attorney representing Bondadies.

“If public bodies charge a fee, any fee, a dollar, it increases the likelihood that the request will be abandoned,” Lambert said in a Zoom interview.

The parties could either settle the case or take it to trial.

The lawsuit asks the court to award Bondadies attorney’s fees and to order the district to process the record request.

Michiganders who aren’t incarcerated can file record requests with local and state governments to review public documents. Some agencies charge a fee to find and redact sensitive information in the documents. Typically, agencies charge about $1 per page. CapCon filed more than 150 record requests in 2024 to break stories. The Michigan Supreme Court ruled in 2024 that certain public school curricula can stay hidden from parents, CapCon reported.