all e-mails between pauger@ridgewood.k12.nj.us and Kate Russell June 2021
Dear Ridgewood Public School District,
This is a request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form. Please acknowledge receipt of this message.
Records requested:
any and all e-mails between [email address] and Kate Russell
Time frame is June 2021
Yours faithfully,
Mark Sullivan
I will be out of the Office until August 22nd, I will have limited email
connection; please reach out to Ms. Rosado for immediate assistance.
NOTICE:
You are advised that e-mail correspondence and attachments between the public
and the Ridgewood Board of Education are obtainable by any person who files a
request under the NJ Open Public Records Act (OPRA) unless it is subject to a
specific OPRA exception. You should have no expectation that the content of
e-mails sent to or from school district e-mail addresses, or between the public
and school district officials and employees, will remain private.
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August 23, 2021
Dear Sir/Madam:
The Ridgewood Board of Education (“District”) received your Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”) request on August 23, 2021. The seven (7) business day deadline to respond to your request is September 1, 2021. As such, the District is timely responding to your OPRA request in accordance with New Jersey law.
Your OPRA request seeks the following records:
any and all e-mails between [email address] and Kate Russell
Time frame is June 2021
Your request is invalid under OPRA. The New Jersey Government Records Council (“GRC”) has upheld an established criteria deemed necessary to specifically identify and facilitate a search for responsive e-mails and other written communications. See Armenti v. Robbinsville Bd. of Educ., GRC Complaint No. 2009-154 (Interim Order May 24, 2011); see also Zahler v. Ocean Cty. College, GRC Complaint No. 2013-266 (Jan. 2016); Elcavage v. West Milford Twp., GRC Complaint No. 2009-07 and 2009-08 (April 2010).
In Elcavage v. West Milford Twp., GRC Complaint No. 2009-07 and 2009-08 (April 2010), the GRC determined that in accordance with legal precedent: “[I]n order to specifically identify an e-mail the request must contain (1) the content and/or subject of the e-mail, (2) the specific date or range of dates during which the e-mail was transmitted or the e-mails were transmitted, and (3) identification of the sender and/or the recipient thereof.”
Here, your OPRA request fails to set forth the content and/or subject matter of the requested e-mail correspondence. Please re-submit your request so that the District may search for responsive records.
Your OPRA request has been closed.
Very truly yours,
Scott Bisig
Business Administrator/Board Secretary