Searching for and gathering evidence that Springfield Public Schools (SPS) is teaching critical race theory (CRT) would cost over $175,000, according to the Missouri Independent.
State Rep. Craig Fishel (R-Springfield) requested the information from SPS, specifically asking for records including keywords such as "racism," "Black Lives Matter" and "critical race theory." Fishel's ask, SPS responded, will come at a price: $179,000 and years of waiting.
In his request, Fishel asked that the fees for retrieving the evidence be waived. However, the district would need to sift through thousands of documents across three academic years of all professional development training and student curriculum information, potentially demanding hundreds if not thousands of labor hours from the district.
Stephen Hall, SPS chief communications officer, told St. Louis Record that the district's response to Fishel "makes it clear that [the district is] willing to work" with the representative.
"The district responded to Rep. Fishel promptly, within the timeline established by the Sunshine Law, to notify him that his request would require additional time for review," Hall said. "A more thorough response was provided on Sept. 20, earlier than had been promised by the district. Just as Rep. Fishel is accountable to taxpayers, so is SPS."
The district, Hall said, needs to use its staff time and resources appropriately, given that it serves 24,000 students, but is willing "to collaborate on a resolution." SPS contends that the costliest part of the search would be to examine 3,500 computers used by district employees; with each search taking two hours, one full-time IT employee would require 3.4 years to complete the task if doing nothing but searching for 40 hours a week.
"When a request for information requires an inordinate amount of time and resources to fulfill, SPS should and will seek appropriate reimbursement," Hall said.