Teacher layoff letters (North Smithfield School Department)
| Submitted | June 27, 2014 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Shawn Musgrave
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Rhode Island Access to Public Records Act ("APRA"), I hereby request the following records:
A full list of the teachers who have received layoff letters for the 2014-2015 school year, as well as the full list of teachers’ names submitted to the Rhode Island Department of Education for possible layoff for the 2014-2015 school year.
I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.
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 10 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Shawn Musgrave
From: Shawn Musgrave
Hello,
Please confirm whether this records request was received.
Best,
Shawn
From: Stephen Lindberg
Hi Shawn -whoever and whichever the above e-mail addresses match to;
This is the 2nd day in a row where - we presume you - has sent a copied/pasted e-mail that you state was sent previously to two of my staff but neither previously received either one that you cite.
Please provide the original e-mails sent out not a copy/paste version. We are concerned that it may not be you sending these or that you are acting as an intermediary for someone else – we have no problem complying with legitimate requests however we need to know who we are dealing with. Thank you for your help with this.
You sent your 1st request in April (attached) asking for the APRA information which we received and my secretary responded to so you were fully aware of what the procedures are. If you note though, it is a different e-mail address from the two we just received.
Hopefully you can see how this is disconcerting. Especially as it seems that you or someone else may be trying to document that the school Department is not responding in the time limit required. It is important for us to go on record that those e-mail requests were not received by us. Perhaps it is best that they be submitted in writing via regular mail or perhaps a written request using our form that is PDF to us.
Once I hear back from you with your response -and feel free to call directly if you wish - we will respond to your latest record request including any associated fees.
Thanks for understanding and helping us to understand what you and your company does and how we can more effectively interface.
Stephen Lindberg
Superintendent of Schools
North Smithfield School Department
83 Green Street
PO Box 72
Slatersville, RI 02876-0072
Telephone: (401)769-5492
Fax: (401)769-5493
R.I. Relay: (800)745-5555
www.northsmithfieldschools.com<http://www.northsmithfieldschools.com/>
From: Shawn Musgrave
Superintendent Lindberg -
Thank you for responding. Apologies for any confusion -- this particular request was originally sent by mail on June 27 and not by email, per the procedures that you had sent in April. I have followed up by email on this particular request as I previously had not received a response to mailed requests. Thank you for confirming receipt.
Regarding the multiple email addresses, I again apologize for any confusion, but respectfully remind you that the Rhode Island Access to Public Records Act is clear -- the identity of the requester has no bearing on the response time or records produced. While I am happy to confirm for you that I am, in fact, the very same individual who has submitted all three records requests from the MuckRock interface, that is irrelevant to your obligations to disclosure.
Please let me know if I can provide any further clarification.
Best,
Shawn
From: Stephen Lindberg
Shawn- thanks very much for your understanding and professionalism in your response.
We will look for the request sent by mail on June 27. That being said- I completely concur with your remarks -
the identity of the requester has no bearing on the response time or records produced.
More important to us is to confirm that we received and when we received such requests. To that end- we both seem to be ensuring that clarity.
We will reply with the data next week and without charge if possible.
Again- thanks for clarifying.
Have a good weekend.
Stephen Lindberg
Superintendent of Schools
North Smithfield School Department
83 Green Street
PO Box 72
Slatersville, RI 02876-0072
Telephone: (401)769-5492
Fax: (401)769-5493
R.I. Relay: (800)745-5555
www.northsmithfieldschools.com
From: Sherry McGahan
Dear Shawn,
Attached please find information responsive to your APRA request dated 6/27/2014 (hard copy of request sent via US Mail received in the Superintendent's Office on 7/14/14). This list represents those individuals terminated from the district. We do not send such notices to RIDE, therefore no documents exists relative to that portion of the request.
Be advised that we have not included information relative to the preliminary layoff list because we believe that this is not a public record under the APRA statute. As such, we object to that portion of the request.
Please be advised that you may appeal the aforementioned decision by the District and file a complaint with the attorney general or retain private counsel for the purpose of instituting proceedings for injunctive or declaratory relief in the superior court of the county where the record is maintained, pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-8(b).
In accordance with RI General Law 38-2-8, if you wish to appeal this decision, you may file a complaint with the Department of Attorney General, 115 South Main Street, Providence, RI; or the Rhode Island Superior Court of Washington County. A copy of the appeals procedure is attached.
Sincerely,
Sherry D. McGahan
Secretary to the Superintendent of Schools
North Smithfield School Department
PO Box 72, 83 Green Street
Slatersville, RI 02876
Tel: (401)769-5492, Ext. 2205
Fax: (401)769-5493
E-mail: smcgahan@nsps.us
Website: www.northsmithfieldschools.com
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