From: Sean Cotton <cottons@gpschools.org>
Date: Wed, Oct 9, 2024 at 1:40 PM
Subject: Re: Note re FOIA appeal
To: XXXXX
Cc: Schoolboard Email <schoolboard@gpschools.org>, Christopher Stanley <stanlec@gpschools.org>

XXXXX,

It is apparent that your narcissism knows no bounds, and as always, you excel at putting your own words in the mouths of others. I had no expectation that you would reflect on your actions or your perceived sense of authority within our community.

I vividly recall the day you shook with rage, declaring your intent to access everything related to independent legal counsel. Like Valarie St. John and Colleen Worden, you seem convinced that there is a hidden agenda behind every action unless you are the one pulling the strings. Your constant attempts at coercive control, in concert with the actions of Colleen and Valarie, has brought Central Administration to its knees.

This relentless interference has not only wasted their time but also drained the district's resources. It is clear that none of these actions are truly in the interest of the students or the community, and one can not help but wonder what your true intentions are. If you and your group regain control of this District, I am certain it will be to the detriment of the community.

Good afternoon,

President Cotton

Sean P. Cotton
President 

Grosse Pointe Public School System

cottons@gpschools.org

www.gpschools.org

20601 Morningside Dr, Grosse Pointe Woods, MI 48236

Note:  The opinions expressed in this email are those of the sender and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the balance of the Board of Trustees and/or the administration of the Grosse Pointe Public School System. Emails sent to or from this email address are accessible by the public under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

On Wed, Oct 9, 2024 at 12:10 PM XXXXX wrote:
President Cotton, 
After chastising board members at the Board table  on ‘reply all’ emails that you have chosen to reply all to an email regarding a FOIA appeal? 

Is this amount of attorney fees meant to influence the appeal? Also, as a side note the subject of attorney hourly bills was raised last night and it was indicated that those aren’t available to Board members. It’s good to know that isn’t the case. 

However, you’ve raised a concern I have as a tax payer with the heavy  involvement of counsel on a public record request to the District and the about of money spent. Are you suggesting that my request for 4 days of materials from GPPSS for very specific search terms that resulted in a finding of approximately 170 pages and me exercising my statutory right to appeal the partial denial has resulted in $14,000 in fees? Or does this amount also include other FOIA’s such as the Grosse Pointe News FOIA I referenced in my appeal that had similar requests for a longer period (with broader results)? 

I know from a local newspaper FOIA that you had expressed similar concerns in the past regarding attorney consulting fees. Your question to Amanda Matheson was whether the fees (much smaller) could be passed along to people filing FOIA’s and the response was that that could waive privilege on the consulting. I see from my recent FOIA that you found a way to pass along part of the costs. However, I would suggest that 4.5- 5 hours of attorney time to apply redactions may be excessive. Since you’re only passing along a small portion of the fees it may be cutting off your nose to spite your face to undertake  them to charge them 

I certainly hope you are not taking the position that FOIA requests are to be discouraged because of attorney fees in fighting them. I do think being more transparent would help stem the tide of FOIA requests from citizens as well as newspapers like the one you own. But regardless government bodies should be very careful not to interfere with this important element of democracy as uncomfortable and cumbersome as they may be. Happy to talk to the Superintendent and or FOIA coordinator about any concerns but I’m not sure this falls in the Board president’s purview. 

Sincerely, 
XXXXX

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 9, 2024, at 11:36 AM, Sean Cotton <cottons@gpschools.org> wrote:

XXXXX,

Thank you for your guidance regarding the Open Meetings Act. I would like to point out that these specific FOIA requests have resulted in costs totaling just over $14,000 for the District.

Sean P. Cotton
President 

Grosse Pointe Public School System

cottons@gpschools.org

www.gpschools.org

20601 Morningside Dr, Grosse Pointe Woods, MI 48236

Note:  The opinions expressed in this email are those of the sender and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the balance of the Board of Trustees and/or the administration of the Grosse Pointe Public School System. Emails sent to or from this email address are accessible by the public under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

On Wed, Oct 9, 2024 at 10:15 AM XXXXX wrote:
Good morning,
I’m so sorry for the devasting loss in the District. My heart and prayers are with the student, the family and all in the South community and in the District. I hope leadership on the Board can rise to meet what the community needs. 

There’s much to say about last night’s meeting but now is not the time in my opinion in light of this tragedy and I’d like to gather my thoughts before reflecting.

I did want to note however that since you have identified the Standing FOIA committee I hope that discussions of my FOIA appeal (as well as apparently another that was discussed at the Board table last night) will only be with those three trustees(Trustees Jeup, Papas, and Worden)  and not any others. It would obviously be breaking quorum rules to consider this with 4 or more trustees unless you do so at open meetings.  I will send any (if any) additional materials only to the identified standing committee for consideration to aid in this process.

Sincerely,
XXXXX

Sent from my iPhone