Last week, I submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for simple demographic information pertaining to students at Fairfax County’s six failing high schools. It is likely that the information exists in the district’s Student Information System database. If the data were available in the Virginia Department of Education’s School Quality Profiles, which it is not, it would take about 10 minutes to collect.

The district’s FOIA office has a long history of overcharging Fairfax residents for access to information. This incident appears to be no exception. On Aug. 9, a FOIA officer sent me an email that said, “The estimated costs to respond to your request under VFOIA are $105.00 (3 hours at the rate of $35/hour).”