A parent was told by Loudoun County Public Schools in Virginia that it would cost tens of thousands of dollars to gain access to all the public records relating to sexual assault and rape incidents across several months this year.
The parent, Michelle Mege, was informed $36,000 would be the tab for the county to fully respond to her Freedom of Information Act request on Oct. 18, according to the Daily Caller. In particular, she requested access to "all communications, including press releases, statements, emails, or other correspondence in any format within the LCPS possession" which contained the words "sexual assault" or "rape" between May 1 and Oct. 18.
Wayde Byard, a public information officer with Loudoun County Public Schools, said there were 100,065 "potential documents" in response to her request.
"Retrieving these documents would take a half hour's work by the supervisor of information technology at a cost of $36.08," he added. "Review of these documents, at the rate of 200 per hour, is estimated to take 500 hours. This work would be performed by the public information officer at the rate of $72.15 per hour. Loudoun County Public Schools estimates it would cost $36,111.68 to fulfill this request."
Ian Prior, the founder of Fight for Schools, told the news outlet that the amount of money requested by the county was "concerning" and amounted to a "roadblock."
Mege made the FOIA request after two sexual assaults that occurred at two separate schools involving the same teenager about which parents have accused the county of a cover-up.
The 15-year-old male pleaded no contest last month to charges of abduction and sexual battery for what a prosecutor said was him forcing a female student into an empty classroom and then touching her breast. The no-contest plea means the teenager conceded that there is enough evidence for a conviction but does not admit guilt. The incident occurred in October, months after the defendant switched to Broad Run High School while there was a sheriff's investigation into the first incident in May at Stone Bridge High School, for which he was convicted of rape. He will be sentenced on Dec. 13 for both cases.
Scott Mineo, another Loudoun County parent, who runs an organization called Parents Against Critical Race Theory, also made a FOIA request. He was charged $180.37 for roughly two and a half hours of work and was asked to pay $432.90 for five hours of work in order to search through 958 emails that contained "exemptions and possible redactions," according to the report.
The Washington Examiner reached out to LCPS for comment.
Loudoun County asks parent to pay $36K for FOIA request for documents regarding 'sexual assault' or 'rape'
A parent was told by Loudoun County Public Schools in Virginia that it would cost tens of thousands of dollars to gain access to all the public records relating to sexual assault and rape incidents across several months this year.
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