George Joseph-The Intercept-Re. School Funding/Teacher Tenure

George Joseph
114 5th Avenue, 18th Floor
NY, NY 10001
June 22, 2015
george.joseph@theintercept.com
940-300-0181

Dear Records Request Officer,

Pursuant to the Kansas Open Records Act (K.S.A. 45-215), I hereby request the following records:

I. Concerning Ray Merrick
A) Any and all electronic communications, including emails and their attachments, between Representative Ray Merrick or employees of Rep. Merrick's office and members of Americans for Prosperity* or Americans for Prosperity-Kansas, including but not limited to Jeff Glendening (jglendening@afphq.org) from March 1, 2014 to April 11, 2014 that mention any of the following terms:

"court", "order", "ruling", "funding", "equitable", "minorities", "low-income", "school district", “schools”, “governor”, “tax cuts”, “tax credit”, “Brownback”, “republican”, “American Legislative Exchange Council”, "KNEA", "poor", "inner city", "suburban", "teachers' union", "union", "AFT-Kansas", "AFT","KPI", "Chamber" "tenure", "due process", "ALEC","HB 2506", "provision", "black", "latino", "tax credit", "private school", "licensure", "license", “fire”

Note: This request should also be understood to include any subsequent responses to communications mentioning any of the aforementioned terms between the aforementioned parties.
*AFP-Kansas and AFP email addresses end with the domain: "@afphq.org".

B) Any and all electronic communications, including emails and their attachments, from March 1, 2014 to April 11, 2014 between Representative Ray Merrick or any employees of Rep. Merrick's office and Dave Trabert (dave.trabert@kansaspolicy.org), James Franko (james.franko@kansaspolicy.org), Patrick Parkes (patrick.parkes@kansaspolicy.org), or David Dorsey (david.dorsey@kansaspolicy.org) that mention the following terms:

"court", "order", "ruling", "funding", "equitable", "minorities", "low-income", "school district", “schools”, “governor”, “tax cuts”, “tax credit”, “Brownback”, “republican”, “American Legislative Exchange Council”, "KNEA", "poor", "inner city", "suburban", "teachers' union", "union", "AFT-Kansas", "AFT","KPI", "Chamber" "tenure", "due process", "ALEC","HB 2506", "provision", "black", "latino", "tax credit", "private school", "licensure", "license", “fire”

Note: This request should also be understood to include any subsequent responses to communications mentioning any of the aforementioned terms between the aforementioned parties.

C) Any and all electronic communications, including emails and their attachments, from March 1, 2014 to April 11, 2014 between Representative Ray Merrick or any employees of Rep. Merrick's office and Rep. Steve Huebert, employees of Rep. Steve Huebert’s office, or any individuals using an email address with the domain @alec.org that mention the following terms:

"court", "order", "ruling", "funding", "equitable", "minorities", "low-income", "school district", “schools”, “governor”, “tax cuts”, “tax credit”, “Brownback”, “republican”, “American Legislative Exchange Council”, "KNEA", "poor", "inner city", "suburban", "teachers' union", "union", "AFT-Kansas", "AFT","KPI", "Chamber" "tenure", "due process", "ALEC","HB 2506", "provision", "black", "latino", "tax credit", "private school", "licensure", "license", “fire”

Note: This request should also be understood to include any subsequent responses to communications mentioning any of the aforementioned terms between the aforementioned parties.

II) Concerning Tom Arpke
A) Any and all electronic communications, including emails and their attachments, from March 1, 2014 to April 11, 2014 between Senator Tom Arpke or employees of Senator Tom Arpke’s office and members of Americans for Prosperity* or Americans for Prosperity-Kansas, including but not limited to Jeff Glendening (jglendening@afphq.org) that mention any of the following terms:

"court", "order", "ruling", "funding", "equitable", "minorities", "low-income", "school district", “schools”, “governor”, “tax cuts”, “tax credit”, “Brownback”, “republican”, “American Legislative Exchange Council”, "KNEA", "poor", "inner city", "suburban", "teachers' union", "union", "AFT-Kansas", "AFT","KPI", "Chamber" "tenure", "due process", "ALEC","HB 2506", "provision", "black", "latino", "tax credit", "private school", "licensure", "license", “fire”

Note: This request should also be understood to include any subsequent responses to communications mentioning any of the aforementioned terms between the aforementioned parties.
*AFP-Kansas or AFP email addresses end with the domain: "@afphq.org".

B) Any and all electronic communications, including emails and their attachments, from March 1, 2014 to April 11, 2014 between Senator Tom Arpke or any employees of Senator Tom Arpke's office and Dave Trabert (dave.trabert@kansaspolicy.org), James Franko (james.franko@kansaspolicy.org), Patrick Parkes (patrick.parkes@kansaspolicy.org), or David Dorsey (david.dorsey@kansaspolicy.org) that mention the following terms:

"court", "order", "ruling", "funding", "equitable", "minorities", "low-income", "school district", “schools”, “governor”, “tax cuts”, “tax credit”, “Brownback”, “republican”, “American Legislative Exchange Council”, "KNEA", "poor", "inner city", "suburban", "teachers' union", "union", "AFT-Kansas", "AFT","KPI", "Chamber" "tenure", "due process", "ALEC","HB 2506", "provision", "black", "latino", "tax credit", "private school", "licensure", "license", “fire”

Note: This request should also be understood to include any subsequent responses to communications mentioning any of the aforementioned terms between the aforementioned parties.

C) Any and all electronic communications, including emails and their attachments, from March 1, 2014 to April 11, 2014 between Senator Tom Arpke or any employees of Senator Tom Arpke and Rep. Steve Huebert or employees of Rep. Steve Huebert’s office, Sen. Bob Marshall or employees of Sen. Bob Marshall's office, or any individuals using an email address with the domain @alec.org that mention the following terms:

"court", "order", "ruling", "funding", "equitable", "minorities", "low-income", "school district", “schools”, “governor”, “tax cuts”, “tax credit”, “Brownback”, “republican”, “American Legislative Exchange Council”, "KNEA", "poor", "inner city", "suburban", "teachers' union", "union", "AFT-Kansas", "AFT","KPI", "Chamber" "tenure", "due process", "ALEC","HB 2506", "provision", "black", "latino", "tax credit", "private school", "licensure", "license", “fire”

Note: This request should also be understood to include any subsequent responses to communications mentioning any of the aforementioned terms between the aforementioned parties.

III) Concerning Pete DeGraaf
A) Any and all electronic communications, including emails and their attachments, from March 1, 2014 to April 11, 2014 between Representative Pete DeGraaf or employees of Rep. Pete DeGraaf ‘s office and members of Americans for Prosperity* or Americans for Prosperity-Kansas, including but not limited to Jeff Glendening (jglendening@afphq.org) that mention any of the following terms:

"court", "order", "ruling", "funding", "equitable", "minorities", "low-income", "school district", “schools”, “governor”, “tax cuts”, “tax credit”, “Brownback”, “republican”, “American Legislative Exchange Council”, "KNEA", "poor", "inner city", "suburban", "teachers' union", "union", "AFT-Kansas", "AFT","KPI", "Chamber" "tenure", "due process", "ALEC","HB 2506", "provision", "black", "latino", "tax credit", "private school", "licensure", "license", “fire”

Note: This request should also be understood to include any subsequent responses to communications mentioning any of the aforementioned terms between the aforementioned parties.
*AFP-Kansas or AFP email addresses end with the domain: "@afphq.org".

B) Any and all electronic communications, including emails and their attachments, from March 1, 2014 to April 11, 2014 between Representative Pete DeGraaf or any employees of Representative Pete DeGraaf's office and Dave Trabert (dave.trabert@kansaspolicy.org), James Franko (james.franko@kansaspolicy.org), Patrick Parkes (patrick.parkes@kansaspolicy.org), or David Dorsey (david.dorsey@kansaspolicy.org) that mention the following terms:

"court", "order", "ruling", "funding", "equitable", "minorities", "low-income", "school district", “schools”, “governor”, “tax cuts”, “tax credit”, “Brownback”, “republican”, “American Legislative Exchange Council”, "KNEA", "poor", "inner city", "suburban", "teachers' union", "union", "AFT-Kansas", "AFT","KPI", "Chamber" "tenure", "due process", "ALEC","HB 2506", "provision", "black", "latino", "tax credit", "private school", "licensure", "license", “fire”

Note: This request should also be understood to include any subsequent responses to communications mentioning any of the aforementioned terms between the aforementioned parties.

C) Any and all electronic communications, including emails and their attachments, from March 1, 2014 to April 11, 2014 between Representative Pete DeGraaf or any employees of Representative Pete DeGraaf’s office and Rep. Steve Huebert or employees of Rep. Steve Huebert’s office, Sen. Bob Marshall or employees of Sen. Bob Marshall's office, or any individuals using an email address with the domain @alec.org that mention the following terms:

"court", "order", "ruling", "funding", "equitable", "minorities", "low-income", "school district", “schools”, “governor”, “tax cuts”, “tax credit”, “Brownback”, “republican”, “American Legislative Exchange Council”, "KNEA", "poor", "inner city", "suburban", "teachers' union", "union", "AFT-Kansas", "AFT","KPI", "Chamber" "tenure", "due process", "ALEC","HB 2506", "provision", "black", "latino", "tax credit", "private school", "licensure", "license", “fire”

Note: This request should also be understood to include any subsequent responses to communications mentioning any of the aforementioned terms between the aforementioned parties.

IV) Concerning Jeff Melcher
A) Any and all electronic communications, including emails and their attachments, from March 1, 2014 to April 11, 2014 between Senator Jeff Melcher or employees of Senator Jeff Melcher’s office and members of Americans for Prosperity* or Americans for Prosperity-Kansas, including but not limited to Jeff Glendening (jglendening@afphq.org) that mention any of the following terms:

"court", "order", "ruling", "funding", "equitable", "minorities", "low-income", "school district", “schools”, “governor”, “tax cuts”, “tax credit”, “Brownback”, “republican”, “American Legislative Exchange Council”, "KNEA", "poor", "inner city", "suburban", "teachers' union", "union", "AFT-Kansas", "AFT","KPI", "Chamber" "tenure", "due process", "ALEC","HB 2506", "provision", "black", "latino", "tax credit", "private school", "licensure", "license", “fire”

Note: This request should also be understood to include any subsequent responses to communications mentioning any of the aforementioned terms between the aforementioned parties.
*AFP-Kansas or AFP email addresses end with the domain: "@afphq.org".

B) Any and all electronic communications, including emails and their attachments from March 1, 2014 to April 11, 2014 between Senator Jeff Melcher or any employees Senator Jeff Melcher's office and Dave Trabert (dave.trabert@kansaspolicy.org), James Franko (james.franko@kansaspolicy.org), Patrick Parkes (patrick.parkes@kansaspolicy.org), or David Dorsey (david.dorsey@kansaspolicy.org) that mention the following terms:

"court", "order", "ruling", "funding", "equitable", "minorities", "low-income", "school district", “schools”, “governor”, “tax cuts”, “tax credit”, “Brownback”, “republican”, “American Legislative Exchange Council”, "KNEA", "poor", "inner city", "suburban", "teachers' union", "union", "AFT-Kansas", "AFT","KPI", "Chamber" "tenure", "due process", "ALEC","HB 2506", "provision", "black", "latino", "tax credit", "private school", "licensure", "license", “fire”

Note: This request should also be understood to include any subsequent responses to communications mentioning any of the aforementioned terms between the aforementioned parties.

C) Any and all electronic communications, including emails and their attachments from March 1, 2014 to April 11, 2014 between Senator Jeff Melcher or any employees of Senator Jeff Melcher’s office and Rep. Steve Huebert or employees of Rep. Steve Huebert’s office, Sen. Bob Marshall or employees of Sen. Bob Marshall's office, or any individuals using an email address with the domain @alec.org that mention the following terms:

"court", "order", "ruling", "funding", "equitable", "minorities", "low-income", "school district", “schools”, “governor”, “tax cuts”, “tax credit”, “Brownback”, “republican”, “American Legislative Exchange Council”, "KNEA", "poor", "inner city", "suburban", "teachers' union", "union", "AFT-Kansas", "AFT","KPI", "Chamber" "tenure", "due process", "ALEC","HB 2506", "provision", "black", "latino", "tax credit", "private school", "licensure", "license", “fire”

Note: This request should also be understood to include any subsequent responses to communications mentioning any of the aforementioned terms between the aforementioned parties.

V) Concerning Jack Thimesch

A) Any and all electronic communications, including emails and their attachments from March 1, 2014 to April 11, 2014 Rep. Jack Thimesch or employees of Rep. Jack Thimesch’s office and members of Americans for Prosperity* or Americans for Prosperity-Kansas, including but not limited to Jeff Glendening (jglendening@afphq.org) that mention any of the following terms:

"court", "order", "ruling", "funding", "equitable", "minorities", "low-income", "school district", “schools”, “governor”, “tax cuts”, “tax credit”, “Brownback”, “republican”, “American Legislative Exchange Council”, "KNEA", "poor", "inner city", "suburban", "teachers' union", "union", "AFT-Kansas", "AFT","KPI", "Chamber" "tenure", "due process", "ALEC","HB 2506", "provision", "black", "latino", "tax credit", "private school", "licensure", "license", “fire”

Note: This request should also be understood to include any subsequent responses to communications mentioning any of the aforementioned terms between the aforementioned parties.
*AFP-Kansas or AFP email addresses end with the domain: "@afphq.org".

B) Any and all electronic communications, including emails and their attachments from March 1, 2014 to April 11, 2014 between Rep. Jack Thimesch or any employees of Rep. Jack Thimesch's office and Dave Trabert (dave.trabert@kansaspolicy.org), James Franko (james.franko@kansaspolicy.org), Patrick Parkes (patrick.parkes@kansaspolicy.org), or David Dorsey (david.dorsey@kansaspolicy.org) that mention the following terms:

"court", "order", "ruling", "funding", "equitable", "minorities", "low-income", "school district", “schools”, “governor”, “tax cuts”, “tax credit”, “Brownback”, “republican”, “American Legislative Exchange Council”, "KNEA", "poor", "inner city", "suburban", "teachers' union", "union", "AFT-Kansas", "AFT","KPI", "Chamber" "tenure", "due process", "ALEC","HB 2506", "provision", "black", "latino", "tax credit", "private school", "licensure", "license", “fire”

Note: This request should also be understood to include any subsequent responses to communications mentioning any of the aforementioned terms between the aforementioned parties.

C) Any and all electronic communications, including emails and their attachments from March 1, 2014 to April 11, 2014 between Rep. Jack Thimesch or any employees of Rep. Jack Thimesch’s office and Rep. Steve Huebert or employees of Rep. Steve Huebert’s office, Sen. Bob Marshall or employees of Sen. Bob Marshall's office, or any individuals using an email address with the domain @alec.org that mention the following terms:

"court", "order", "ruling", "funding", "equitable", "minorities", "low-income", "school district", “schools”, “governor”, “tax cuts”, “tax credit”, “Brownback”, “republican”, “American Legislative Exchange Council”, "KNEA", "poor", "inner city", "suburban", "teachers' union", "union", "AFT-Kansas", "AFT","KPI", "Chamber" "tenure", "due process", "ALEC","HB 2506", "provision", "black", "latino", "tax credit", "private school", "licensure", "license", “fire”

Note: This request should also be understood to include any subsequent responses to communications mentioning any of the aforementioned terms between the aforementioned parties.

VI) Representative Marvin Kleeb

A) Any and all electronic communications, including emails and their attachments from March 1, 2014 to April 11, 2014 between Representative Marvin Kleeb
or employees of Representative Marvin Kleeb‘s office and members of Americans for Prosperity or Americans for Prosperity-Kansas, including but not limited to Jeff Glendening (jglendening@afphq.org) that mention any of the following terms:

"court", "order", "ruling", "funding", "equitable", "minorities", "low-income", "school district", “schools”, “governor”, “tax cuts”, “tax credit”, “Brownback”, “republican”, “American Legislative Exchange Council”, "KNEA", "poor", "inner city", "suburban", "teachers' union", "union", "AFT-Kansas", "AFT","KPI", "Chamber" "tenure", "due process", "ALEC","HB 2506", "provision", "black", "latino", "tax credit", "private school", "licensure", "license", “fire”

Note: AFP-Kansas or AFP email addresses end with the domain: "@afphq.org".

B) Any and all electronic communications, including emails and their attachments from March 1, 2014 to April 11, 2014 between Representative Marvin Kleeb or any employees of Representative Marvin Kleeb's office and Dave Trabert (dave.trabert@kansaspolicy.org), James Franko (james.franko@kansaspolicy.org), Patrick Parkes (patrick.parkes@kansaspolicy.org), or David Dorsey (david.dorsey@kansaspolicy.org) that mention the following terms:

"court", "order", "ruling", "funding", "equitable", "minorities", "low-income", "school district", “schools”, “governor”, “tax cuts”, “tax credit”, “Brownback”, “republican”, “American Legislative Exchange Council”, "KNEA", "poor", "inner city", "suburban", "teachers' union", "union", "AFT-Kansas", "AFT","KPI", "Chamber" "tenure", "due process", "ALEC","HB 2506", "provision", "black", "latino", "tax credit", "private school", "licensure", "license", “fire”

Note: This request should also be understood to include any subsequent responses to communications mentioning any of the aforementioned terms between the aforementioned parties.

C) Any and all electronic communications, including emails and their attachments from March 1, 2014 to April 11, 2014 between Representative Marvin Kleeb or any employees of Representative Marvin Kleeb‘s office and Rep. Steve Huebert or employees of Rep. Steve Huebert’s office, Sen. Bob Marshall or employees of Sen. Bob Marshall's office, or any individuals using an email address with the domain @alec.org that mention the following terms:

"court", "order", "ruling", "funding", "equitable", "minorities", "low-income", "school district", “schools”, “governor”, “tax cuts”, “tax credit”, “Brownback”, “republican”, “American Legislative Exchange Council”, "KNEA", "poor", "inner city", "suburban", "teachers' union", "union", "AFT-Kansas", "AFT","KPI", "Chamber" "tenure", "due process", "ALEC","HB 2506", "provision", "black", "latino", "tax credit", "private school", "licensure", "license", “fire”

Note: This request should also be understood to include any subsequent responses to communications mentioning any of the aforementioned terms between the aforementioned parties.
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The requested documents will be made available to the general public through the web-based media entity, The Intercept, and is not being made for commercial purposes. Therefore I request a fee waiver for the processing of these documents.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, 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 3 business days, as the statute requires.

Please feel free to call me with any questions at 940-300-0181.

Respectfully,
George Joseph

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 22, 2015. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.