Enrollment Projection Source Data - Live Birth Data, etc. (Sole Supervisory District Of Albany-schoharie-schenectady-saratoga Counties And Boces (capital Region))

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New York Freedom of Information Law, I hereby request the following records:

Live Birth Data including constant birth rate, long term, short term and average birth rates for within the district for current and previous 6 years.

Birth to Kindergarten Survival Ratio used for the past 10 years by year.

Projected Kindergarten Enrollment for the past 10 years by year, and supporting data.

Any communications with NYS DOH or County DOH or other data service provider requesting, receiving or inquiring regarding live birth data, birth to kindergarten survival rate or other statistical data used for projecting enrollment.

Copies of all enrollment projections for the past 6 years and source statistical data, including but not limited to live birth data which were used to provide projected enrollment data upon which securities purchasers rely.

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 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Jackson Parker

I write to you with the intent of appealing the unsatisfactory response I received on April 10, 2023, to my Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request dated March 5, 2023. My request sought records pertaining to live birth data, birth to kindergarten survival ratios, projected kindergarten enrollment, communications with the NYS DOH or County DOH, enrollment projections with supporting data for the past six years, and any communications with other data service providers, among other related information.

The response I received from Capital Region BOCES stated that they do not possess any information responsive to my request, as BOCES does not use the requested data for enrollment predictions. This claim is, in my humble opinion, quite surprising, considering that enrollment projections, even if they are received from component school districts, are indeed used to support assertions in bond disclosure notices, such as the revenue anticipation notes that are dependent on component district enrollment.

Evidence of this connection can be found on the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA) website, wherein the dependency of revenue anticipation notes on component school district enrollment is explicitly documented: https://emma.msrb.org/IssueView/Details/P1413803

Given this information, I kindly request that you reconsider the denial of my FOIL request and conduct a thorough search for the records sought. If indeed Capital Region BOCES does not maintain these records, I implore you to provide a written explanation as to why this information is not readily available, given its apparent significance in the issuance of revenue anticipation notes.

Furthermore, if the component school districts do maintain the requested information, I request that the communications between Capital Region BOCES and these districts be provided, as they would be considered data providers and within the scope of my initial request.