Following the resignation of the Board of Education (BOE) attorney, Sarah Young, superintendent Eddie Tyler said he wanted to clarify misinformation concerning a records request in connection with an illegal immigration raid at the construction site of Loxley Elementary School.
Tyler said Young is not ultimately the decision-maker on certain items, and he didn't want her to be the focus of attacks and misinformation.
"While Mrs. Young is the attorney for the school system, the decisions she or any other attorney who is paid with tax dollars to represent us communicates to third parties are not made by her," Tyler stated. "She is advocating the school system's position or executing a decision on our behalf. She, like any lawyer hired by a client, is our advocate and counselor. It is disappointing to see her advocacy weaponized and politicized when it is my opinion, and that of many others, that she has done her job and done it well."
1819 News received information on how record requests are handled.
After an open records request is submitted online, the system uses the JustFOIA program to monitor it.
Communications coordinator Chasity Riddick told 1819 News the school system obtained a contract with JustFOIA after a law was passed in 2024 requiring agencies to respond within 10 business days to acknowledge receipt and 15 days with a denial or fulfillment.
"Due to the amount of requests we receive, we wanted a way to track requests to make sure we were compliant with the law," Riddick explained.
Riddick explained further that requests go to several people after being received, including the board attorney's office and the communications office.
Depending on the nature of the request and the individuals involved, it is handled accordingly.
Before Young resigned last week, she approached Tyler and requested that her information be removed from the school system's website for personal and privacy reasons.
Tyler expressed concern over privacy issues for employees, saying "misinformation and personal attacks on social media and in the media may affect their personal lives."
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