Public documents should be free and online. Stop charging for copies | Opinion
Should Kansas City-area school districts charge its patrons money for copies of superintendents’ and other high-ranking officials’ contracts? In the interest of transparency and accountability, I’d say that’s a no-brainer.
Unfortunately, the Independence School District regularly charges for routine records. For example, the district recently charged the Independence Examiner newspaper $17.80 for a copy of new Superintendent Vickie Murillo’s contract, according to the publication. I truly believe that no one should have to pay for any contract that involves taxpayers’ dollars.
Here’s a better idea for Independence and other school districts to consider: Post superintendents’ contracts and other important agreements of public interest online. As top leaders of school districts, superintendents are quasi-CEOs. Most are well-paid public employees and deservedly so. But their salaries, benefits and other perks should be easily accessible.
Now to be fair, most major board-approved financial agreements between school districts and their employees and vendors can be found in meeting agendas. And under Missouri’s open records Sunshine Law, employee contracts can be requested at any time.
But charging folks for these materials should not be the norm in Independence or anywhere.
Board voted 4-3 against refunding newspaper
At its latest meeting, the Independence School Board of Education voted 4-3 against refunding the Examiner the money it paid for a copy of Murillo’s contract. Murillo will replace Cindy Grant, who has served as interim superintendent since last summer.
While I agree with the board’s decision not to retroactively refund fees associated with Sunshine Law requests — could you imagine the Pandora’s box that decision would have opened? Who wouldn’t want their money back? — I do not support the district tacking on fees for a copy of the new superintendent’s contract to start with.
In Arkansas and Illinois, state law mandates local school districts post superintendent contracts on their websites. Because the Texas Education Agency requires districts to post such agreements on their sites, I found copies of superintendents’ current employment contracts easily accessible online in that state.
While Missouri law doesn’t require this, nothing prevents a school district from implementing its own policy or practice.
I asked Independence district spokeswoman Megan Dillard if terms of Murillo’s contract were available online and was told they weren’t.
“As a general practice, the district does not post employee contracts on its website,” Dillard wrote in an email. “The superintendent’s contract is an employment agreement, similar to other employment contracts the district maintains. However, employment contracts are public records and can be obtained through the district’s standard records request process.”
It’s a process in ISD that costs citizens money but shouldn’t.
Public interest at stake
Board member Wendy Baird made the motion to refund the Examiner, which ultimately failed. As she and other board members said during the March 10 meeting, the district must be prepared for these rather routine open records requests.
“For something with that kind of public interest, I think it is important that we allow access to those documents, especially when they’re readily available,” Baird said.
According to Board President Carrie Dixon, the fees the district charged the Examiner was allowable under state statute.
“When someone does a Sunshine request, it isn’t just a matter of copying an email,” Dixon said. “It has to be vetted by all parties in the district to assure that the information is correct.”
My argument here is how much time does it really take to provide a copy of a signed contract to anyone?
Going forward, Independence could learn from other school districts in the region that handle these requests with relative ease and adjust its policy.
“To me, it makes sense that we do not charge for those things when we know it’s going to be asked for, and we can be prepared to have it,” Baird said.
Other KC-area district policies
Lee’s Summit: The school district does not charge to fulfill open records requests that take less than 15 minutes to produce, according to spokeswoman Katy Bergen. “It’s only when a records request takes time to compile that we would charge fees in alignment with the Sunshine Law based on the time our custodian of record is spending on the project away from their normal duties,” Bergen wrote in an email.
Park Hill School District: Kelly Wachel, a spokeswoman for the Park Hill School District, said in an email that district policy requires that employee contracts, including the superintendent’s, be made available to the public upon request. Employee contracts are not posted on the district’s website though, Wachel wrote. “But again, we would make contracts available if requested by our public,” she wrote.
North Kansas City: The school district abides by the Sunshine Law when considering such requests, according to spokesperson Chris Oberholtz. However, a copy of Superintendent Rochel Daniels’ latest contract extension approved in February can be found on the district’s website, Oberholtz wrote in an email. “While Missouri law allows for certain fees, many Sunshine requests include a request for a fee waiver,” he wrote. “For the purposes of this specific filing, there would not be a fee associated.”
Although there are no statutes in Missouri that specifically address whether a superintendent’s contract should be posted on a district’s website, maybe there should be.
Until then, I would encourage the Independence School Board or any other district without a policy that provides a copy of the superintendent’s contract upon request to consider one that addresses the issue.
Or in the interest of transparency, simply post the superintendent’s contract online.
This story was originally published March 24, 2026 at 5:08 AM.
