Any and all emails, whether from official public email addresses or from personal emails used to discuss public business, or any other account in which public business was discussed, as of January 1, 2012 through January 23, 2012, between school directors and commissioners, or between individual members of each body, that discussed or referenced the decision to hold public meetings or joint meetings between the two bodies, and any emails sent or received by any elected official in which the prohibition or limiting of contact between the two governing bodies or individuals thereof was referenced or discussed.
Timeline
Sent RTK request to MTLSD at 5:46 pm January 24, 2012.
Sent RTK request to Steve Feller at 5:48 pm January 24, 2012.
Received email confirmations from both on January 25, 2012.
Received this email from Steve Feller and cc'ed to Phil Weis at 1:36 pm on January 30, 2012.
Dear Ms. Gillen:
Please be advised that my office with the Municipality of Mt. Lebanon (the "Municipality") received your Right to Know request (the "Request") dated January 24, 2012. The Municipality is in the process of obtaining a legal review of the Request to determine whether the records you seek are "public records" subject to access under the Right to Know Act. The Municipality expects to be able to respond to the Request on or before February 23, 2012.
Stephen Feller
Municipal Manager
Sent this link to the Commission and School Board Directors on January 31, 2012 at 11:26 am.
http://m.post-gazette.com/business/legal-news/council-emails-are-public-business-personal-computer-emails-not-exempt-1206471?p=0
On Feb 23, my RTK request was partly granted and partly denied by Steve Feller. 02 23 12 RTK response from Municipality
On Feb 28, my RTK request was granted by Jeanine Szalinski. Cover letter from MTLSD 02 23 12 RTK response from MTLSD
Except for the first email from Elaine Cappucci in the MTLSD response, the responses are identical, just five days apart.
On Feb 23, my RTK request was partly granted and partly denied by Steve Feller. 02 23 12 RTK response from Municipality
On Feb 28, my RTK request was granted by Jeanine Szalinski. Cover letter from MTLSD 02 23 12 RTK response from MTLSD
Except for the first email from Elaine Cappucci in the MTLSD response, the responses are identical, just five days apart.
8 comments:
The big issue here isn't one about transparency but the fact that a commissioner reached out to the Board to work together on saving taxpayers money in the form of a joint pool project.
Instead of a cordial conversation it seems like it turned into the Board President becoming defensive of her own territory.
Jo's paranoia is completely over the top! Kelly at least seems to be following a path that leads to some fiscal responsibility (rare in our elected officials today).
Keep up the good fight, Kelly Fraasch.
I agree. I don't normally accept anonymous comments, but I would hate for Kelly to miss your comment.
Elaine
We would not need 30 more days to consider these Right-tp-Know requests if elected officials didn't have dirty laundry to hide.
John
Wait, you got a response acknowledging receipt of a RTK request ONE short day later? I am still waiting to hear ANYTHING days after I asked the School District first thing Monday morning (both in email and hand-delivered letter) for a copy of the readily-available documentation for last week's asbestos abatement activities at the high school. In the past, the District has indicated that their own policies and/or RTK rules trump AHERA regulations, but they're just plain wrong on that.
Pam, are you saying they didn't even acknowledge receipt of your request? If you hear nothing after five business days, doesn't that mean it was deemed denied? That doesn't sound good. I am wondering if the Municipality would have anything on file.
For Sunshine Week 2012, I will be writing about the Right To Know process. As you well know, Pam, it is very easy. People shouldn't be intimidated by it. It is our right to know!
Elaine
Well, interestingly enough, Elaine, they acknowledged receipt of my request within four hours of your Friday morning post.
HOWEVER, they asked me to re-submit my request. Can you believe it?
They asked me to submit a Right-To-Know request form "in compliance with the Right To Know Law and District Policy".
I thanked them for their response and told them "For the nteenth time, AHERA trumps District policy and the Pennsylvania RTK procedures. Please get me the documentation I have requested before I have to call the E.P.A."
Some things just never change with the Mt. Lebanon School District. Local readers who have backups of my archived emails might recall this sample from June 2005:
"I'll be brief and not comment on your statements regarding the past other than to remind you that this is not the first time that MTLSD has stalled on allowing viewing of asbestos management plan components.
"Under the federal AHERA Rule, Central Administration does not have 5 business days to 'respond' to a request. Federal law trumps Pennsylvania's Right to Know Law, MTLSD policies, and MTLSD administrative guidelines."
For the benefit of school administrators who hadn't been carbon-copied during the withholding episodes of 2003 and 2004, I reiterated this citation:
"Sec. 763.93(g)(2) of the AHERA Rule clearly states that 'Each local education agency shall maintain in its administrative office a complete, updated copy of a management plan for each school under its administrative control or direction. The management plans shall be available, during normal business hours, without cost or restriction, for inspection by representatives of EPA and the State, the public, including teachers, other school personnel and their representatives, and parents. The local education agency may charge a reasonable cost to make copies of management plans.'"
"As you already know, the 'Management Plan' consists of many components, including but not limited to all preventive measures and response actions; sampling and analysis records; training records; periodic surveillance records; fiber release episodes; and abatements."
Folks can download a pdf of "How to Manage Asbestos in School Buildings - the AHERA Designated Person's Self-study Guide" and the AHERA rules from
http://www.epa.gov/asbestos/pubs/asbestos_in_schools.html
This afternoon the District told me that I first have to come in to the Administrative offices and "inspect" the requested documents prior to requesting copies of them.
I wrote back that the District is not permitted to force me to "inspect" documents prior to asking for photocopies of documents.
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