Columbus City Schools sued for public records

As part of The Buckeye Institute’s lawsuit filed on behalf of 10 public employees across the state against the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the group sued the Columbus City Schools for public records the Institute says are subject to the Ohio’s Public Records Act.

The Buckeye Institute wants the requests, court costs and attorneys fees.

“Access to public documents is fundamental to our system of government and is clearly spelled out in Ohio law,” said David C. Tryon, director of litigation at The Buckeye Institute. “Despite their clear responsibility to produce these public records, Columbus City School officials have refused to comply with Ohio law, and it is unfortunate that the district’s actions have forced The Buckeye Institute to turn to the courts to resolve what should have been a simple matter of complying with Ohio’s Public Records Act.”

The group wants records related to union dues deductions it claims were improperly withheld from Christin Wilkins and Ronnie Legg. Wilkins is an eighth-grade science teacher and was a member of the Ohio Education Association before she resigned in 2020. Legg is a driver for the district and also resigned from the union in 2020.

The case, originally filed in December, is pending in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.

As previously reported by The Center Square, the lawsuit claims money was illegally taken from their paychecks by employers and given to a government union.

It includes employees from Boardman, Toledo, Akron, Maumee, Galloway, Upper Sandusky, Columbus and Bowling Green. The majority are school employees – a behavior specialist, an office assistant, a secretary, a custodian, a driver, two bus drivers and an eighth-grade science teacher – while another is a property enforcement officer and another is a highway technician.

All but one resigned union membership in 2020, while the other left the union in early 2021.