Ohio Auditor Dave Yost kicked off Sunshine Week by issuing citations against eight public entities in Summit County, many for failing to train their employees on public records laws or neglecting to keep public records policies in 2016.
“Public records and transparency are not a matter of instinct. It requires training and that’s why it’s in the law,” Yost said in a news release. “When you take the public paycheck, you take the obligation to get trained. These documents belong to the people.”
Sunshine Week, a national event led by the American Society of News Editors, is an annual weeklong initiative that celebrates the importance of open government and shines a spotlight on government entities that could be more transparent.
The eight public agencies cited in Summit County included schools, cities, villages and fire departments.
Most prominent in violations were the Next Frontier Academy charter school and the Manchester Local School District. Both education systems received two citations.
Next Frontier — which went defunct in 2015 — was accused twice of failing to have records or a policy available. Manchester was accused of failing to send employees to public records training courses provided by the state and failing to have records or a policy related to records available for inspection.
This isn’t the first time Next Frontier has faced such criticism. A state audit last year revealed the district kept incomplete records and took money from the state for students it couldn’t prove existed.
Though Next Frontier has been defunct since 2015, officials said the school still held records that were audited in 2016.
Manchester officials could not be reached for comment.
Citations also were issued against the village of Mogadore, Coventry Local School District, Valley Fire District and the cities of Barberton and Stow.
In total, the auditor issued 414 citations against 357 entities for records violations in 2016.
Townships made up 30.8 percent of the citations in 2016 — the biggest portion. Villages were a close second, making up 23.8 percent.
To download a spreadsheet of all citations in 2016, visit www.goo.gl/9Gi3hk.
Nick Glunt can be reached at 330-996-3565 or nglunt@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGluntABJ and on Facebook @JournoNickGlunt .