Appeals officer says school district must identify fired teacher
August 21, 2010 Open records | Right to Know Law
By Chris Buckley | [Monessen] VALLEY INDEPENDENT
The Monessen School District must provide the name of a teacher fired in June by Sept. 17, an appeals officer has ruled.
The teacher, who had perviously been suspended, was terminated at the June 8 school board meeting, and was only identified as "Employee No. 166."
On June 15, The Valley Independent served the district with a written request for documents containing pertinent information, including the teacher's name, position, compensation, number of years of service and the district's final decision regarding the teacher's discharge.
On June 25, the district responded via a letter from solicitor John Toohey that it had received the request on June 21 and that a legal review was necessary to determine whether the records would be made public.
The district asked for an extension to July 15, but that date passed with no response, prompting the newspaper to file the appeal under the state's Right-to-Know Law.
Attorney Ron Barber filed the appeal on behalf of the newspaper on July 19 at the Office of Open Records in Harrisburg.
The ruling by Office of Open Records Appeal Officer Lucinda Glinn gives the district 30 days from the date of the Aug. 18 order to release the name of the teacher.
The district "failed to show that the records are properly protected on this basis and does not meet its burden of proof" to withhold the employee's name, Glinn wrote.
"Were the Office of Open Records to interpret the exception as proffered by the district, then any agency may shield the basic information regarding discharged employees, such as compensation and years of service, simply by announcing the discharge by a confidential identifier. Such an interpretation would frustrate the legislative intent to assure that compensation/years of service information of agency employees remain public," Glinn wrote.
The district maintains the right to appeal Glinn's ruling to the Westmoreland County courts.
The Monessen School District must provide the name of a teacher fired in June by Sept. 17, an appeals officer has ruled.
The teacher, who had perviously been suspended, was terminated at the June 8 school board meeting, and was only identified as "Employee No. 166."
On June 15, The Valley Independent served the district with a written request for documents containing pertinent information, including the teacher's name, position, compensation, number of years of service and the district's final decision regarding the teacher's discharge.
On June 25, the district responded via a letter from solicitor John Toohey that it had received the request on June 21 and that a legal review was necessary to determine whether the records would be made public.
The district asked for an extension to July 15, but that date passed with no response, prompting the newspaper to file the appeal under the state's Right-to-Know Law.
Attorney Ron Barber filed the appeal on behalf of the newspaper on July 19 at the Office of Open Records in Harrisburg.
The ruling by Office of Open Records Appeal Officer Lucinda Glinn gives the district 30 days from the date of the Aug. 18 order to release the name of the teacher.
The district "failed to show that the records are properly protected on this basis and does not meet its burden of proof" to withhold the employee's name, Glinn wrote.
"Were the Office of Open Records to interpret the exception as proffered by the district, then any agency may shield the basic information regarding discharged employees, such as compensation and years of service, simply by announcing the discharge by a confidential identifier. Such an interpretation would frustrate the legislative intent to assure that compensation/years of service information of agency employees remain public," Glinn wrote.
The district maintains the right to appeal Glinn's ruling to the Westmoreland County courts.
