Their new policy requires attendance once every term

The Suburban News

9/26/2007

By DAVID J. CROSS

The Columbus Board of Education is trying to better define its public records policy.

Board members last week unanimously passed a resolution that requires board members to attend public records training at least once each term.

However, some members questioned portions of the district’s new policies and whether a representative should be sent to the training sessions instead of all board members.

Prior to the resolution passing Sept. 18, board member Jeff Cabot asked to amend the policy to force board members to attend the meetings rather than sending someone in their stead.

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Cabot said. “I don’t think we ought to waive ourselves out of public records training.”

Those members in favor of sending a representative believed board members are constantly changing, and a person who is not on the board could attend more easily.

Cabot’s motion to amend the resolution passed with a 5-2 vote. Board members W. Carlton Weddington and Betty Drummond opposed the action.

Board member Stephanie Groce questioned the resolution’s lack of clarification with electronic mail messages.

“Are we putting ourselves in an uncomfortable position in the future?” Groce asked. “It seems like we should be addressing more e-mail.”

The district’s legal counsel, Larry Braverman, said public records questions regarding e-mail are being worked through on state and national levels and the board should wait to see what occurs there.

“We thought this issue need not be addressed in board policy,” he said.

Another question board members had was how long it should take the district to reply to information requests.

Under the policy, the district must provide the records in a “prompt and reasonable” time.

Braverman said the time it takes to reply to specific request differs. A request for a single document could take a reasonably short period of time while requests for large amounts of information might take time to locate first.

“I can’t really put a specific time on any of these things,” Braverman said. “Certainly, we will respond as soon as we can.”

The board waived the traditional three reading process for resolutions and passed the policy on its first reading.

The resolution needed to be passed by Saturday, Sept. 29, to meet state laws, Board President Terry Boyd said.

Other things the policy sets regarding public records requests were:

Requests do not need to be put in writing;

A person does not need to give a name or intended use for a request. However, the district may require the a person’s identity and intended use of student directory information to determine whether the information could be used in a profit-making activity; and

Any denial of request must include an explanation, including legal authority.