Ellinger seeking info from schools

Jefferson City lawyer Marc Ellinger this fall has been asking school districts for some information.

A month ago, Ellinger mailed a two-page letter to a number of Missouri public school districts, making a "Sunshine Law" request for public information and asking 14 questions about the kinds of standardized tests the districts give, and about the processes and costs involved in terminating tenured teachers.

Ellinger - who also is Cole County's presiding commissioner, but who mailed the questions in his work as a private practice attorney - declined to identify his client.

In the past, he has done legal work for retired businessman Rex Sinquefield, who has spent millions of dollars of his own money to promote causes and law changes he thinks Missouri needs for ....