Statement - Message to Readers Regarding Freedom of Information Funds
PDF AVAILABLE HERE
The Griffins' Nest Editorial Board would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to Tamara Taggart for organizing a funding campaign for freedom of information requests, as well as to all those who donated following the Vancouver School Board's disappointing decision not to waive the $10 application fee for general requests made under Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. We now have more than enough funds to conduct the reporting we intended to.
General FOI requests were free, prior to the passage of Bill-22 late last year. Public bodies across the province were empowered with the option to charge a $10 application fee and could choose not to apply the fee at their discretion. As many have noted, FOI requests are an important part of holding a public body accountable and highlighting areas for improvement. And when the VSB was told that the fee precludes us from doing that work, we were essentially told we waste the time of staff and written to in a condescending manner that ignored many of the well-documented and publicly-known challenges that The Griffins' Nest has faced both during this and last school year. However, despite our school board's reluctance to support robust student journalism and disinterest in accountability, we remain committed to our role of seeking and telling all sides in matters of the public interest in School District 39. We are not going away.
We are beyond grateful to all those who donated to support The Nest's student journalism, and whose overwhelming support is a strong rebuke of the expression, press, and information rights ignorance that has unnecessarily defined our relationship with our school board.
We look forward to continuing to tell the stories of those who shape public education in Vancouver, meaning those of students, families, teachers, principals, support staff, management staff, trustees, and all those engaged in the affairs of this District.
Thank you all for stepping up when the people we expected to did not. Please look continue to expect public-interest student journalism that holds the institutions you value accountable.