When lawyers lose by winning - TDSB asks for $3.5 mil for data on overspending

[fuji]

I guess the school board lawyer felt pretty clever, responding to a freedom of information request by proposing astronomical fees for a relatively simple data retrieval. It's typical lawyer sandbaggery and trench warfare, be obstinate, misinterpret, reinterpret, and generally throw up obstacles hoping to string out the process and make the other guy give up. Obviously, the fees are going to be appealed to the Privacy Commissioner, but the lawyer probably figured hey, that'll take a few years, so that's a win.

Except what actually happened is the Star ran a story about the ridiculous fees, on an overall story about out of control schoolboard overspending, and now the lawyer's client look like complete jackasses in the media.

Hilarity ensues. The chair of the board has already responded by saying they will work something out.

Here's why the TDSB is routinely over budget, they think this is a reasonable way to do business:

TDSB lawyer Giselle Basanta has written to the Star saying she believes “partial access to the records will be granted.” First, though, she said, there is the issue of fees. Basanta, the board’s freedom of information co-ordinator, estimates it would cost the school board:

• $1,125,000 to search for the records in the SAP database, which would take 37,500 hours at $30 per hour

• $1,350,000 to prepare the records for release, which would take 45,000 hours at $30 per hour. She estimates one-quarter of the records would have to be “severed,” to remove information they objected to releasing. The Star has seen sample pages from the records and there is no personal information, which is typically the type of information removed.

• $1,080,000 to photocopy the records, even though the Star asked for an electronic copy of the database. The TDSB said there are 5.4 million pages detailing the work orders and the charge levied would be 20 cents a page.

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/art...ill-hand-over-work-order-data-for-3-5-million

If you want to know why we pay so much for our schools but get so little, look no further. Now you know why schools are billed thousands to install an electrical outlet.

PSSST, hey Rob Ford, forget the pricy consultants and consider a subscription to the Toronto Star, I THINK THEY FOUND THE GRAVY!