Pennsylvania’s open data exemptions for colleges is extremely unusual: researchers
A director from Penn State University who ran on a platform of fiscal responsibility claims that his organization’s$ 5 billion investment records have been blocked.
Then, after facing a “runaround” for decades, Trustee Barry Fenchak said he is suing the school in an attempt to get access to the documents.
In his private email, shared with The College Fix, Fenchak wrote on Wednesday,” For raising problems, requesting information I am legally entitled to, and trying to engage my fellow governors in fair deliberation, I have been stripped of committee projects, issued a Letter of Reprimand from the Executive Committee, and had my social protections revoked.”
Fenchak ( pictured ) said he felt he had” no choice” but to take legal action after his requests to review financial records were denied.
His petition, filed in July, even has renewed concerns about transparency at state universities. According to Brechner Freedom of Information Project Director David Cuillier, the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law does not mandate that institutions follow the same publication standards as other common companies.
” The upside of the privacy is huge. I ca n’t imagine a university that had a]Jerry ] Sandusky, that they would continue to think hiding essential public records is a good idea”, Cuillier, of the University of Florida, told The Fix in a Monday phone interview.
Former assistant football coach at Penn State, Sandusky, was found guilty of sexually abusing boys at his house and in the locker room. A number of well-known school officials were charged with trying to cover up the scandal.
Petition seeks fund data
Fenchak, an expense assistant, was elected by students to the PSU Board of Trustees in 2022. Once on the table, he said he began seeking information about the school’s income, believing it his duty as a director to help monitor such things.
According to his complaint, the board of trustees maintain” the University’s purchase assets’ best oversight,” according to a PSU Office of Investment Management file.
According to Fenchak, one of the concerns was a” significant increase in operational fees” related to the college’s$ 5 billion investment, which were “paid to expense fund managers beginning in 2016”.
Fenchak claimed that the board rejected his requests for information on the investment on numerous occasions. Finally, he said he decided that the only option was to reimburse.
” My complaint is straightforward: by Pennsylvania legal statute Title 15 Section 5512 ( a ), a trustee of a nonprofit corporation has the right to ‘ access and copy the University’s books, records, and documents so long as doing so is reasonably related to the performance of the duties of a trustee.’ If the administration refuses to provide that entry, they are breaking the law”, he wrote.
But, Fenchak also said he is not making any “allegations of wrongdoing or total neglect” about the management of the school’s money, he only wants access to the records as a director.
Meanwhile, another move by the board Tuesday raised even more concerns.
In order to give current members more influence over the selection of candidates chosen by alumni, the trustees voted to alter their bylaws, similar to Fenchak’s. It passed 24-8, according to the Centre Daily Times. Some trustees are alumni-elected, others are appointed.
According to advocates, the change will help ensure board candidates have the necessary skills and qualifications to serve as administrators of the university. However, opponents argued the new bylaws are a “blow to the democratic process”, according to the report.
” At a time when we’re being challenged to be more transparent, this process would make our elections less transparent”, Trustee Jay Paterno told the newspaper.
Responding Wednesday, Fenchak wrote in his newsletter that the change basically means he’s “banned for life, and ineligible to run for trustee again, ever”.
PSU says it’s working to increase transparency
According to a statement from Penn State spokesman Wyatt DuBois, The Fix did not comment on pending litigation.
However, he said trustees do receive “robust data and information, designed to educate them and enable decision making and oversight”.
DuBois said,” Penn State is committed to transparency and has taken several steps to increase the level of information that it shares with the public.”
These include an accountability page on its website and an annual report with financial information, campus safety reports, and data on enrollment, demographics, graduation, and retention rates, and more, he said.
DuBois also noted that PSU is a” state-related rather than public university”, and therefore” not subject to Pennsylvania’s ‘ Right to Know Law”.
Shannon Harvey, assistant vice president and secretary of the PSU Office of the Board of Trustees, told The Fix in an email Thursday the board has “nothing further to add” to the university’s statement.
State’s open records exemption for universities is unusual: scholars
Terry Mutchler, founding executive director of the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records, said Fenchak’s lawsuit is “highly unusual”. She now chairs the transparency and public data practice at Obermayer, a law firm based in Philadelphia.
In a phone interview on Thursday, Mutchler told The Fix,” It is uncommon to see a sitting board member have to file legal action for the documents they oversee.”
Pennsylvania does not impose its right to know law on universities, unlike other states, which Mutchler said she would like to change.
” When you receive$ 250 million ]tax dollars ] as part of your funding, I believe there needs to be public transparency”, she said.
When the public has the chance to see what they are doing, Cuillier, a spokesperson for the Freedom of Information Project, said,” People are less likely to steal, cheat, and do bad things.” It’s just that fundamental”.
In November, the Pennsylvania legislature passed a law requiring more transparency from universities. Sponsored by Rep. Katie Klunk, the legislation increases the list of records universities must make public, including top salaries, enrollment data, and meeting minutes by its board of trustees.
Klunk responded to two comments requests over the past week regarding her legislation and transparency concerns.
But Cuillier described the bill as “window dressing”, saying it should have gone farther.
He said,” Just make the universities accountable for the open records law.” ” It’s a pretty simple fix”.
MORE: Republicans ‘ requests for university emails lead to criticism of transparency laws.
IMAGE: K. Jensen/Shutterstock, Barry Fenchak
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