Mr. Supsie
In response to your document request in regard to Craig Lorentzen, the
following responses are offered:
1. Copies of all applications for employment with the Manchester Township
School District. - No responsive record exists.

2. All records showing the initial sick leave bank, including whether any
sick leave days were transferred from the place of previous employment as
well as any subsequent additions of sick days from the onset of employment
through to the present time.

3. Employment Contracts.
Response 2:  You have requested “All records showing the initial sick
leave bank, including whether any sick leave days were transferred from
the place of previous employment as well as any subsequent additions of
sick days from the onset of employment through to the present time.” The
request for all records without identifying a specific document is
overbroad and otherwise require the custodian to perform research to
fulfill the request. N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq. requires the individual
requesting access to communicative records identify with specificity the
employee drafting the specific correspondence. See MAG Entm’t, LLC v. Div.
of Alcohol Beverage Control, 375 N.J. Super. 534 (App. Div. 2005);The
Court held that “[w]hile OPRA provides an alternative means of access to
government documents not otherwise exempted from its reach, it is not
intended as a research tool litigants may use to force government
officials to identify and siphon useful information. Rather, OPRA simply
operates to make identifiable government records ‘readily accessible for
inspection, copying, or examination.’ N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.” (emphasis added).
The Court further held that “under OPRA, agencies are required to disclose
only ‘identifiable’ government records not otherwise exempt . . . In
short, OPRA does not countenance open-ended searches of an agency's
files.” Id. at 549 (emphasis added);  see also Bent v. Stafford Police
Dep’t, 381 N.J. Super. 30 (App. Div. 2005): The Court affirmed the GRC’s
decision (GRC Complaint No. 2004-78) that the complainant’s request was
broad and unclear (“any and all”). The Council ruled that the information
sought did not amount to an identifiable government record. Here, you have
a requested access to a “a digital list of all employees hired by the
district. Please include their job title (non-abbreviated) and union
affiliation, department they work in, hire date, and salary. Please
include full time staff, part time staff, substitutes, or
temporarily/seasonally employed workers. This list can be broken up if one
record does not exist containing all the requested information. But please
include all the requested information in the OPRA request.” The district
does not have a list for all employees hired, their union affiliation,
department they worked in, hire date, and salary. There is no responsive
document to produce to your request, and thus to satisfy your request the
district would be forced to siphon through its records, research the
requested information and compile the information into a document
responsive to your request. Furthermore, the district has hired hundreds,
if not thousands of employees since it was established, and your request
is left open ended to an indeterminate time period. As a result, this
request is overbroad. See Bent v. Stafford Police Dep’t, 381 N.J. Super.
30 (App. Div. 2005): N.J. Builders Ass’n v. N.J. Council on Affordable
Housing., 390 N.J. Super. 166, 180 (App. Div. 2007): Schuler v. Borough of
Bloomsbury, GRC Complaint No. 2007-151 (Interim Order dated December 19,
2007): Elcavage v. West Milford Twp. (Passaic), GRC Complaint No. 2009-07
(April 2010): Burnett v. Cnty. of Gloucester, 415 N.J. Super. 506 (App.
Div. 2010); Burke v. Brandes, 429 N.J. Super. 169 (App. Div. 2012).

 Notwithstanding the fact that this request is overbroad, the District has
produced Mr. Lorentzen’s employment contract.

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 Manchester Township Board of
Education 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, by e-mail
at [1][email address], or at their web site at [2]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.

Thank you.

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