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Raising Cane Rob Perez |
Jones’ contract
remains a secretNow that University of Hawaii football coach June Jones, the recently anointed $800,000 man, is easily the state government's highest-paid employee, I wish I could tell you about the incentive clauses in his new contract that could cost the public even more hard cash.
I wish I could tell you about the mystery donors who will be paying half his salary and what relationships, if any, they have with the university.
I wish I could tell you if this tapping of private funds to help pay a public official's wages has "conflict of interest" written all over it.
I wish I could tell you about a lot of other things related to Jones' new contract and whether all the fine print passes the ethics smell test.
But I can't.
The basic agreement, approved recently by the UH Board of Regents, is top secret, for authorized eyes only.
That may change after the contract is signed, but if history is any indication, don't hold your breath.
At the moment, you probably have a better chance prying from McDonald's the mystery recipe for Big Mac sauce than scoring details of Jones' new contract or even getting a copy of his old one.
UH journalism professor Beverly Keever has been trying to get her hands on the latter for several years, but her efforts have been rebuffed by the university.
I've tried for only the past week, but the results were the same. Nada. Nothing. Zippo.
It seems the public's right to know carries little weight on the Manoa campus, at least when dealing with the employment agreement for one of the state's most celebrated, accomplished and best-compensated individuals (his super-sized salary actually doesn't take effect until the contract is signed, but the raise will be retroactive to July 1).
In recent years the university has brushed aside requests for copies of Jones' contract despite a 1991 opinion from the Office of Information Practices stating that UH coaching contracts, once redacted of confidential information, are public.
The stonewalling has continued despite a 2001 letter, again from OIP, telling the university that the agency believes UH should release a redacted copy to Keever "assuming any nonpublic information is reasonably segregable."
So what did UH tell Keever after getting OIP's 2001 letter and another one in 2002?
Jones' contract was "not segregable," and UH was awaiting a new opinion from OIP.
In other words, UH wasn't able to black out confidential information in the agreement and, until the new OIP opinion arrived, it wasn't about to release any portion of the contract.
You've got to be kidding, right? The university wasn't able to take a heavy black marker to the Jones contract and obscure confidential information? Even the nation's most secretive intelligence agencies routinely resort to such redacting when compelled to release documents.
No, the Jones deal apparently was too sacred to trust to the eyes of the public, OIP opinions and redaction be damned.
Asked to explain why the Jones contract wasn't "segregable," the UH attorney who wrote that reply to Keever said, "I was being a very good advocate for the University of Hawaii."
Very good, indeed.
Jones signed his first contract with UH in 1999, and the media clamor for copies began immediately, prompting the school to ask for the new opinion from OIP.
In disregarding the old one, the university argued that the 1991 opinion didn't analyze the fundamental question of whether releasing Jones' contract would be an unwarranted violation of his privacy -- something protected by state statute -- or whether the public's right to know -- also given importance by state law -- would outweigh those privacy rights.
Let's see. He's now the top-paid public employee, coaching the highest-profile sport at the highest-profile institution in town. And the public isn't privy to details of his public-employment agreement.
What do you think?
One reason the contract disclosure question has been an issue for so long is because the university has waited more than four years for the new OIP opinion -- and is still waiting.
The OIP, which advises state agencies on issues related to Hawaii's open records and meetings laws, has a huge backlog of pending cases, with some more than a decade old.
Les Kondo, OIP's new director, calls the backlog embarrassing and aims to reduce it over the next year or two so the agency can issue opinions in a more timely fashion, even given its limited staffing and resources.
He said his office is working on the UH opinion, but couldn't say when that would be issued.
OK, so the OIP is a little slow to the punch. But the university clearly has contributed to the delays.
Even though Keever requested a copy of Jones' contract before 2001 -- she doesn't remember precisely when she asked -- the university didn't respond to her request until March 2002, and only after prodding from the OIP, according to OIP and UH documents and Keever.
A state agency generally has 10 business days to respond to a records request.
More tellingly, the OIP -- in March 2002, February 2003 and again last month -- asked the university in writing for a copy of Jones' contract, essential for developing the new opinion.
The agency received the copy only within the past week or two.
Asked why UH took so long to respond, Ruth Tsujimura, a university attorney, said she couldn't disclose the reason because of attorney-client privilege.
And you wonder why I'm suspicious?
To Keever the stonewalling is inexcusable. "They're just flouting the law, which is pretty unsettling given it's the legal department that's doing it," she said.
All this secrecy stuff also is unsettling given UH President Evan Dobelle's pronouncement last year at the Freedom of Information luncheon that the university, of all public institutions in Hawaii, has a special responsibility to ensure openness.
"Being more open is, in fact, making us more effective and efficient," Dobelle said. "The university has needlessly expended a great deal of staff time and expertise in court trying to defend its secret settlements or to justify its hiring and salary procedures. Perhaps we can serve as a model for the rest of the state."
This is the model we want other agencies to emulate? I don't think so.
But the stone wall may be coming down.
UH spokesman Paul Costello told me Friday afternoon that Dobelle would support making Jones' new contract public once it's final.
Supporting something, of course, is different than actually doing something. But let's give Dobelle the benefit of the doubt and believe he'll do the right thing and make Jones' contract, and those of other UH coaches, public.
So what does the $800,000 man himself think of all this secrecy?
I wish I could tell you, but he didn't respond to my request for comment. I also wanted to ask Jones if he could provide me with a copy of his contract.
You really can't blame the guy for not responding, though. If you're making the equivalent of $15,385 a week, why waste even a few precious minutes talking to a nosy, trouble-making reporter asking questions about your high-priced contract?
After all, Jones has a football team to coach -- and paychecks to cash.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Star-Bulletin columnist Rob Perez writes on issues
and events affecting Hawaii. Fax 529-4750, or write to
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu 96813. He can also be reached
by e-mail at: rperez@starbulletin.com.