Dear Mr. Kratovil,

I am responding as the records custodian for the West Windsor-Plainsboro
Regional School District Board of Education (“Board”). This email is in
response to your OPRA Request that was sent to me Jan. 15, 2024 via OPRA
Machine.  Since the Board was closed Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 (for Martin
Luther King, Jr. Day), Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024 (due to inclement weather),
and Friday, Jan. 19, 2024 (due to inclement weather) the seven-business
day timeframe for the Board to provide a response to your Requests expires
on Jan. 29, 2024.  This response is being provided to you within that time
frame.

OPRA defines a “government record” of a public entity as “any paper,
written or printed book, document, drawing, map, plan, photograph,
microfilm, data processed or image processed document, information stored
or maintained electronically or by sound-recording or in a similar device,
or any copy thereof, that has been made, maintained or kept on file in the
course of his or its official business.” N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1. Accordingly,
the Board is required to produce only those records which it maintains in
the official course of business and which are not otherwise exempt from
production. Pursuant to the definition of a government record, a public
entity is not required by OPRA to research information and/or create
records that do not exist in response to OPRA requests. See e.g., Mag
Entertainment, LLC v. Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, 375 N.J.
Super. 537 (App. Div. March 2005).

Your specific request was as follows. 

“Under OPRA and the common law right of access, please provide a copy of
the 2024 meeting schedules for the Board of Education and each of its
committees.” If the schedule is unclear about the location/method(s) of
meetings, I kindly ask that you clarify for me how to join and
participate, and feel free to share links that can help members of the
public to join and/or watch the meetings, or to watch them after they
conclude.”

The Board’s responsive documents are as follows: 

• Please see the attached document for the Board of Education meeting dates (Jan. 2024 - Jan. 2025) 

• Tentative meeting dates for the [1]Administration and Facilities Committee (hyperlink included) (please see page 14 in the linked document).

• Tentative meeting dates for the [2]Curriculum Committee (hyperlink included) (please see page 21 in the linked document). 

In addition, Board of Education meeting dates/times/locations are also
posted to the District website [3]here. Please note once a committee
meeting date is finalized the date/time/location is posted to the link on
the District website as well. The Board of Education meetings are live
streamed and recorded and can be viewed on the [4]District’s YouTube
channel.

If your request for access to a government record has been denied or
unfilled within the seven (7) business days required by law, you have a
right to challenge the decision by the District to deny access.  At your
option, you may either institute a proceeding in the Superior Court of New
Jersey or file a complaint with the Government Records Council (GRC) by
completing the Denial of Access Complaint Form.  You may contact the GRC
by toll-free telephone at 866-850-0511, by mail at P.O. Box 819, Trenton,
NJ 08625, or by e-mail at [5][email address], or at their website at
[6]www.state.nj.us/grc.  The GRC can also answer other questions about the
law.  All questions regarding complaints filed in Superior Court should be
directed to the Court Clerk in your County.

Sincerely,

Kia Bergman

Custodian of Records

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