A nonprofit group that promotes government transparency is suing New College of Florida in Sarasota and a newly appointed trustee at the liberal arts school, arguing that they ignored a public records request.
The Florida Center for Government Accountability filed the lawsuit on Feb. 21 in the 12th Judicial Circuit Court. The complaint names the college and a Board of Trustees member, Christopher Rufo, as defendants at a time when concerns have been raised by college students and others about the impact of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointment of conservative college trustees.
The board just abolished the college’s Office of Outreach and Inclusive Excellence, which was tasked with promoting diversity in the student population. Some observers now fear the school will become less welcoming to racial minorities and others.
The lawsuit seeks all texts sent to or from Rufo from Jan. 6 to Jan. 23, including those on personal accounts, plus a log of all phone calls made to or received by the trustee over the same time period. DeSantis appointed Rufo to the college’s board on Jan. 6.
“To date, there has been no response to the records request or an indication of when public records will be produced,” Michael Barfield, the FLCGA’s director of public access, said in an email to the Florida Record. “To be effective, the Public Records Act requires public officials to timely comply with its provisions. Citizens shouldn’t have to go to court to enforce a constitutional right.”
The FLCGA is investigating the extent to which political motives may be driving efforts to reshape the functioning of the college.
“The center seeks an order compelling (the) defendant to provide those records without further delay and to preserve any responsive records they contend are not a public record,” the lawsuit states.
Rufo is a senior fellow for the Manhattan Institute, as well as a writer and filmmaker, who has “led the fight against critical race theory in American institutions,” according to the Governor’s Office.