Business Insider public records request July 29, 2022
| Submitted | July 29, 2022 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Insider Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Arizona Public Records Law, I hereby request the following records:
-All separation agreements and settlements reached with current and former teachers who taught in the district between January 1, 2017 through the day this request is fulfilled.
-All public records relating to any and all claims of misconduct against current and former teachers who taught in the district between January 1, 2017 through the day this request is fulfilled. Such public records should include, but not be limited to, all complaints; allegations; claims; investigatory reports; analyses; summaries; memoranda and/or notes; interview recordings; transcripts and/or notes; reviews; emails, text or other electronic messages, voicemails, and/or other communications and/or correspondence; determinations; decisions; orders; resignation letters; employment reclassification documents; offers in compromise and/or settlement agreements; termination and/or transfer papers; letters of reproval and/or other disciplinary actions, whether imposed or not; referrals to law enforcement, administrative, and/or licensing agencies, departments, and/or bodies; appeals; court filings and/or rulings; and all similar materials notwithstanding the use of other terminology, nomenclature, or categorization by this or other involved public agencies.
To further clarify this request, the scope of the misconduct at issue arises from, relates to, and/or is a consequence of sexual behavior and/or activities with district students, whether currently or previously enrolled, and notwithstanding whether any such behavior and/or activities were proven to have occurred or not. The construction of this request should be understood to be liberal and expansive, such that all public records which may be remotely responsive should be produced in full and may only be withheld and/or redacted only as required by law.
I would like these records in the electronic format that they are stored in, transmitted via email or other digital method; please refrain from sending paper copies of the records.
Rather than provide all responsive records at once, I ask that you provide copies of records on a rolling basis, as they become available.
If you determine that any of the information qualifies for an exemption from disclosure, I ask you to note whether the exemption is discretionary, and if so whether it is necessary in this case to exercise your discretion to withhold the information. In any event, please provide a signed notification citing the legal authorities on which you rely if you determine that any of the information is exempt and will not be disclosed.
Please waive any applicable fees; this information is being sought for reporting purposes. If I can provide any clarification that will help expedite the processing of my request, please contact me directly, at mdrange@insider.com.
Note: a delay in access to these records is tantamount to a denial of access.
Thank you for your timely attention to this matter.
Matt Drange
Senior Correspondent, Business Insider
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days.
Sincerely,
Insider Staff
From:
Dear Mr. Drange,
This email is in response to, and acknowledgement of, your public records request ("PRR") to Gilbert Public Schools for:
1. All separation and settlement agreements with current and former teachers between January 1, 2017 and the present date (Item 1); and
1. All records relating to any and all claims of teacher misconduct involving allegations of sexual behavior or activity with district students between January 1, 2017 and the present date, whether proven to have occurred or not (Item 2).
Regarding Item 1, any separation or settlement agreements with teachers would be among the legal records kept in three (3) file cabinets comprising twelve (12) drawers of records. Neither the records of teacher (as distinct from nonteaching staff) nor separation or settlement agreements (as distinct from other documents) are kept separately in a readily identifiable manner. We estimate it will take approximately forty (40) hours of staff time just to go through these file cabinets and make copies of any records responsive to your request. Accordingly, your current request would impose a substantial administrative and financial burden on the district that would significantly interfere with our operations and budget. Please also note that additional time would have to be devoted to make appropriate and necessary redaction of any protected records and information contained in the responsive records. Therefore, we respectfully request that you narrow Item #1 to avoid any undue burden on school operations and budgets. You might consider a narrower timeframe, for example.
Regarding Item 2, teacher misconduct records are kept in four (4) file cabinets comprising sixteen (16) drawers of records, and due to the nature and substance of these files, approximately three times as many files are contained in these drawers, as compared to the number of files contained in the legal files mentioned under Item 1 above. Neither the records of teachers (as distinct from nonteaching staff) nor the type or nature of the misconduct allegations are kept separately in a readily identifiable manner. We estimate it will take approximately one-hundred and twenty (120) hours of staff time just to go through these file cabinets and make copies of any records responsive to your request. Accordingly, your current request would impose an enormous administrative and financial burden on the district and would significantly interfere with our operations and budget. Please also note that, due to the sensitive nature of the records requested (involving students) any FERPA-covered records cannot be disclosed without parental consent, subpoena, or court order and any records not covered by FERPA would require a significant amount of additional time to make appropriate and necessary redaction of protected information contained in these records. Therefore, we respectfully request that you narrow Item #2 to avoid any undue burden on school operations and budgets. As above, you might consider a narrower timeframe, for example.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Rodney States
Attorney At Law
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From: Gilbert Public Schools
Mr. Drange,
This email concerns your public records request ("PRR") to Gilbert Public Schools for:
1. All separation and settlement agreements with current and former teachers between January 1, 2017 and the present date (Item 1); and
1. All records relating to any and all claims of teacher misconduct involving allegations of sexual behavior or activity with district students between January 1, 2017 and the present date, whether proven to have occurred or not (Item 2).
On September 20, 2022 we requested that the PRR be narrowed in order to avoid the substantial and undue administrative and financial burdens that the request imposed in its original form. We have not received any response or other correspondence from you on this matter since that time. Accordingly, we are closing the PRR at this time and the purpose of the email is to notify you of the closed status of the PRR.
Sincerely,
Rodney States
Attorney At Law
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