Lessons in Openness Missing at N.M. Tech

Following the law. Transparency. Deadlines.
Those concepts appear to be in short supply at New Mexico Tech, where a refusal to comply with the Inspection of Public Records Act turned a molehill of a request into a mountain of denial. So much so the state Attorney General’s Office again has admonished the university for breaking a sunshine law.

A year ago this month, Tech alumnus William Colburn asked to inspect records maintained by Tech’s Computer Center. Tech took longer than the act requires to provide the records or say why not. Tech also told Colburn he would have to pay more than $17,827 just to look at the records. But the act says a public body cannot charge in advance to inspect records. It can charge the actual cost of copying.
Colburn filed a complaint with the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office, which in late May informed Tech it had violated the law. The letter told Tech to “immediately make available the nonexempt public records that were requested” and to notify the office when that would happen. That was three months ago. And nothing. A reminder letter last week was met with denial that the university’s attorney had received the May 28 letter, or the reminder letter.
Tech’s position that it would take months to prepare the printouts because the records contained exempt information such as student ID or Social Security numbers that would have to be edited out implies that the state’s top technology university somehow doesn’t have the computing skills to find and redact information without resorting to a pencil and paper wielded by a harried clerk. So 19th century!
Tech has a poor track record on open government. Two years ago, a district court judge ordered the school to turn over records related to the planned establishment of a military air drop zone west of Socorro. In June, the AG’s Office found Tech violated the Open Meetings Act on multiple occasions.
The university has relented and is allowing Colburn to inspect roughly 18,000 records in batches of 500. But it should not have taken a year and the involvement of the AG’s office. Instead of trying to circumvent the law, it’s time New Mexico Tech made a commitment to follow it.

Editor’s note: The above editorial ran in the Albuquerque Journal on Sept. 16. Below is a response from New Mexico Tech Public Information Officer Thomas Guengerich regarding the editorial. Guengerich’s response was published in the Journal on Sept. 29.