FREEDOM
OF INFORMATION COMMISSION
OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT
In the Matter of a Complaint by |
FINAL DECISION |
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Complainant |
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against |
Docket #FIC 2000-085 |
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Chairman,
Board of Education, |
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Respondents |
June 28, 2000 |
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The above-captioned matter was heard as a contested
case on April 17, 2000, at which time the complainant and the respondent
appeared, stipulated to certain facts and presented testimony, exhibits and
argument on the complaint.
After consideration of the entire record, the
following facts are found and conclusions of law are reached:
1. The respondent chairman is a public agency within the meaning
of §1-200(1),
G.S.
2.
By letter dated
January 17, 2000, the complainant made a request to the respondent chairman
for copies of any and all correspondence, minutes, letters, faxes, etc.,
wherein Dr. Fenn, superintendent of Lisbon Public Schools, informed the
respondent chairman of outside consultation and activities; and any minutes or
correspondence reflecting the Lisbon Board of Education delegating to the
respondent chairman the authority to approve Dr. Fenn’s outside employment.
3.
It is found that by
letter dated January 24, 2000, the respondent chairman informed the
complainant that he received the January 17, 2000 request letter and that
information related to that request would be sent to the complainant at a
later date.
4.
It is further found
that by letter dated January 26, 2000, the respondent chairman attempted to
address the issues raised in the complainant’s January 17, 1999 request by
providing the complainant with a copy of the Lisbon Board of Education’s
meeting minutes of April 22, 1999, which record the board’s unanimous
approval of Dr. Fenn’s contract and informed the complainant, in essence,
that he does not maintain any records wherein Dr. Fenn informed the respondent
chairman of outside employment.
5.
By certified letter
dated February 9, 2000, the complainant informed the respondent that he had
not received a timely response to his January 17, 2000 request letter and
submitted a copy of that request letter.
6.
By letter dated
February 23, 2000, and filed on March 3, 2000, the complainant appealed to
this Commission alleging that the respondent violated the Freedom of
Information (“FOI”) Act by failing to respond to the complainant’s
request.
7.
Section 1-210(a), G.S.
provides in relevant part that:
“[e]xcept
as otherwise provided by any federal law or state statute, all records
maintained or kept on file by any public agency, whether or not such records
are required by any law or by any rule or regulation, shall be public records
and every person shall have the right . . . to receive a copy of such records
in accordance with the provisions of section 1-212.”
8.
Section 1-212(a), G.S.,
provides in relevant part that “[a]ny person applying in writing shall
receive, promptly upon request, a plain or certified copy of any public record
. . . .”
9.
It is found that the
requested records, to the extent such records exist, are public records within
the meaning of §1-210(a), G.S.
10.
It is found that
while the respondent chairman responded to the complainant’s original
January 17, 2000 request, as described in paragraphs 3 and 4, above, the
complainant did not receive such response.
11.
It is also found that
the complainant’s second request, dated February 9, 2000, was received at
the office of the Lisbon Board of Education on February 14, 2000 by a Patricia
Rogers, but there is no evidence in the record that the respondent chairman
personally received that second request.
12.
It is further found
that during the months of December 1999 through March 2000, the complainant
made several requests for records and information, including another request
dated February 9, 2000, and the respondent chairman responded promptly to all
such requests, which responses often exceeded the requirements of the FOI Act.
13.
Notwithstanding the
finding in paragraph 10, above, it is found that the respondent chairman acted
with due diligence and promptly responded to the complainant’s January 17,
2000 request.
14.
Furthermore, it is
found that there are no records responsive to the complainant’s request as
described in paragraph 2, above.
15.
It is therefore
concluded that the respondent chairman did not violate the provisions
§1-210(a), G.S.
The
following order by the Commission is hereby recommended on the basis of the
record concerning the above-captioned complaint.
1. The complaint is hereby dismissed.
Approved by Order of the Freedom of Information Commission at its regular meeting of
June 28, 2000.
_________________________
Melanie R. Balfour
Acting Clerk of the Commission
PURSUANT TO SECTION 4-180(c), G.S., THE FOLLOWING ARE THE NAMES OF EACH PARTY AND THE MOST RECENT MAILING ADDRESS, PROVIDED TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION COMMISSION, OF THE PARTIES OR THEIR AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE.
THE PARTIES TO THIS CONTESTED CASE ARE:
Stephen Woodruff
242 Ross Hill Road
Lisbon, CT 06351
Chairman,
Board of Education, Lisbon Public Schools
c/o Atty. Thomas B. Mooney
Shipman & Goodwin, LLP
One American Row
Hartford, CT 06103-2819
__________________________
Melanie R. Balfour
Acting Clerk of the Commission
FIC2000-085FD/mrb/07/06/00