After almost three years of litigation, an upcoming trial in Story County District Court is set to conclude a dispute between open-records advocates and the ISU Foundation.

Negotiations between the Foundation and the plaintiffs failed to produce an out-of-court settlement before the May 4 trial date.

“It has been lengthy, and we’re looking forward to bringing it to a conclusion,” said Jason Menke, assistant director of communications for the Foundation.

The lawsuit against the Foundation was initially filed by Mark Gannon, a former ISU employee, and Arlen Nichols, a retired Des Moines businessman, in August 2002. The lawsuit seeks to make available what Gannon and Nichols said are public financial records of the Foundation.

On Feb. 4, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled the Foundation’s

records are “subject to public disclosure,” reversing a previous decision by the Story County District Court and remanding the case back to the lower court. Out-of-court negotiations after the ruling failed to produce a settlement, so the upcoming trial will address the specific records which the ISU Foundation and Board of Regents believe to be confidential under Section 22 of the Iowa Code.

Sections 21 and 22 of the Iowa Code, which contain the provisions of open records law, state 46 exemptions that public entities — or private entities performing a government function, like the Foundation — can claim for keeping records private.

Nichols said he believes the Foundation’s continual revision of its public information policy amounted to “verbal self-stimulation” and failed to address what he said was the main issue.

“They’re just playing with themselves with all these changes, that’s all,” Nichols said. “We believe that all the records are open until the Foundation can prove any exemptions.”

Menke said he was disappointed by the attention given to the exemptions the Foundation will likely claim at trial.

“It’s a handful of information that’s critical to our operation,” he said.

The Foundation’s focus has been on complying with the Iowa Supreme Court’s decision, he said.

Both the Foundation and the plaintiffs have said they are optimistic about the future of the Foundation.

“Things are trending upward for us, as they have been for the last couple years,” he said. “We’re very encouraged as we begin to plan for the next campaign to benefit the university.”