The Associated Press and Kansas Press Assn. have asked to join the Lawrence Journal-World and 6News in a lawsuit that aims to force Kansas University to disclose public records relating to salary and benefits being paid to athletic director Lew Perkins.

Motions submitted Friday said KU’s refusal to release the records was a violation of the state’s Open Records Act and asked the court for a declaratory judgment that the records are public. The AP and KPA also submitted a separate request to KU for release of the records, which the Journal-World first requested in December.

Access to public records is crucial to preserve the public’s right to know, a necessity to build an informed citizenry that can govern itself effectively, said Beth Grace, AP’s bureau chief for Kansas and Missouri.

“We believe the Kansas Open Records Act protects that right and that these records should be released,” she said.

Doug Anstaett, executive director of the KPA, said his group was joining the lawsuit because Perkins was a public employee whose compensation should not be secret.

“What these athletic department officials do reflects on the universities, and because the universities are public agencies we believe those records should be open to public scrutiny,” Anstaett said.

Douglas County District Court Judge Paula Martin must rule on whether to allow KPA and AP to participate in the lawsuit.

The university has not been served with the documents and could not immediately comment, said Lynn Bretz, a university spokeswoman.

Statewide effect

Mike Merriam, the Topeka attorney who represents both groups, said it was unclear whether that ruling would occur before Wednesday, when attorneys from KU, the Journal-World and 6News are to gather for a discovery conference in the case.

Merriam said the case would have an effect statewide.

He noted that 29 Kansas communities have universities, community colleges and technical schools and colleges governed by the Kansas Board of Regents, and those communities also have newspapers that are members of the KPA, AP or both.

“The way KU responds to records requests is persuasive at other regents institutions,” Merriam said. “We feel it is important for our members to address the situation at KU, so it focuses on open government rather than discourages it.”

Gerald Cooley, the attorney representing the Journal-World and 6News, said he welcomed the support.

“I’m certainly pleased they’re attempting to enter the case,” Cooley said. “The interests of our organizations are parallel.”

The AP is the world’s largest news organization, a nonprofit cooperative with 3,700 employees working in more than 240 bureaus worldwide and serving more than 15,000 news outlets. The KPA is the statewide trade group representing more than 230 member newspapers.

Public vs. private

The Journal-World’s original suit, filed in January, argues that KU’s repeated refusal to release records relating to Perkins’ salary and benefits is in violation of the Kansas Open Records Act, which is intended to ensure that public agencies and those spending public funds conduct their business in public.

The university has said Perkins’ base salary is $400,000, and fringe benefits include two automobiles, family memberships to two country clubs and two season tickets to men’s basketball games.

It also said “contingent supplemental compensation is potentially available” under the contract. That supplemental income has been said to boost Perkins’ annual compensation to $1 million or more.

According to comments attributed to individuals associated with the athletic department, Perkins will receive deferred annual compensation ranging from $400,000 to $600,000 a year during the life of his five-year contract.

Faculty members and others from the university community have told the Journal-World the question must be put to rest, as current estimates of Perkins’ compensation are raising concern.

But university officials have said such information was not required to be made public under state law. Base salary information for virtually all KU faculty, staff and employees is available through annual state budget documents, however. And the Journal-World has been given access to contracts for athletic directors at other universities in the Big 12 Conference.

Because of wide interest in matters relating to the cost of the athletic department and worsening state and university budget shortfalls, such disclosures are important and will continue to be sought, the Journal-World’s managers have said.

New legislation

Meanwhile, a bill that would strengthen the Kansas Open Records Act awaits lawmakers’ attention when they return Wednesday from a long recess to finish the year’s business.

The bill, clarifying state law on what records are public, is a House-Senate compromise that does less than some legislators and groups had hoped.

Negotiators dropped a House-passed section requiring that all records about a public employee’s compensation be open, including funding from private sources. KU, Kansas State University and Wichita State University had said the provision could allow violations of employees’ privacy.

However, the House’s provision on personnel records was an issue for senators because of the universities’ concerns — and because of the pending lawsuit.

The Associated Press contributed information to this story.