Unsung Hero: Former school board president fights for public records — and wins … sort of

By Arthur Kane

For Marilyn Flachman, it seemed like a simple request.  In Colorado, open records laws clearly say public employee salaries, which are funded by taxpayers, are available to the public.   Last year, the district was having financial problems so Flachman, a former Adams County School District 50 board president, wanted to see the details of most schools’ largest expenditure — staff salaries.  In February 2015, Flachman filed the records request for the 1,000 or so teachers, administrators and other school employees, and she assumed a spreadsheet would appear in her email in box within days.

What she got was a five-month battle, a request for thousands of dollars and, with the help of an attorney who agreed to work for free, a brick of paper that she struggled to wheel out of her attorney’s office.....To Read More....