FOIA Request to Arkansas Division of Higher Education regarding State Community College Employee Compensation Data, FY 2025 on December 4, 2025.
A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was submitted to the Arkansas Division of Higher Education by Natural State News. The request seeks detailed records concerning employee compensation for individuals employed by community colleges during Fiscal Year 2025. This inquiry is part of an effort to provide transparency and hold public institutions accountable.
The specific data requested includes various fields such as employee name, gender, age or year of birth, date of birth, college name, department, employer name, title or position, hire date, compensation amount (including base pay and any additional pay), compensation type (such as salary or hourly), and employment type (full-time or part-time). The information is sought in electronic format to facilitate analysis and reporting.
Natural State News emphasizes its role in gathering and disseminating news to the public as a media organization. They argue that access to these public records is crucial for fulfilling their professional responsibilities. Additionally, they have requested a fee waiver based on their status as a media entity involved in public interest reporting.
The requestor is affiliated with The Coalition Opposing Governmental Secrecy, a non-profit organization that aids media companies and advocacy groups in investigating governmental agencies through FOIA requests. More information about this coalition can be found on their website: https://stopsecrecy.org/about/.
Our team will continue to keep you updated as we gather and report news related to this request and other matters of public interest. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need further clarification regarding this matter.
