I commend the Register, and the Press Citizen on their efforts to open up access to Iowa’s public records. Transparency is an essential element of a well functioning democracy. But these papers threaten to eclipse the value of those achievements by doing violence to the privacy of the non-profit organizations that support some of our most cherished institutions, our state universities.
Iowans should be proud of our excellence in education. Our state universities provide top notch education at affordable prices. But maintaining these institutions is not cheap. Out of the over 3 billion dollars the Board of Regents will spend next year, only 616 million will come from taxpayers. Less than 50 percent of the universities’ budgets are covered by state funds. The rest comes from tuition, and the generosity of private individuals.
The privacy of the various non-profit organizations that facilitate these charitable gifts is under attack. Why does the public need to know the names of the people who, out of the goodness of their hearts, take up the burden that the legislature is unable, or unwilling to carry?
The Iowa Supreme Court decision that the Register, and Press Citizen believe authorizes this unprecedented intrusion tortures the plain meaning of the Iowa Freedom of Information Act. The solicitation and receipt of donations to our state universities is not a government function. Rather, it is evidence of a government that fails to function, and of the generous spirit of ordinary Iowans. Please, allow these folks their privacy.
