E-Mail Is Public Record, Districts Learn

By Jeff Archer

For many local school boards, the Internet has become an essential tool for tapping the concerns of constituents. Parents who would otherwise hesitate to call or write a letter often show little inhibition in firing off e-mails to their districts' top leaders.

But this aspect of e-governance has raised a thorny issue in Wisconsin, where some school board members have been surprised to learn that electronic mail they receive from the public is covered by the state's open-records laws. That means not only keeping the messages for seven years, but also making them available for public inspection.

"We really weren't aware as a school board that we should be saving these e-mails," Karen Bowen, the president of the school board...