Minutes of Public and Nonpublic Meetings, Closed Meeting Resolutions.
Please accept this as my request for government records under both OPRA and the common law right of access. Thank you very much for your commitment to transparent government.
BACKGROUND:
In her August 5, 2022, 1:18 p.m. e-mailed response to a similar records request, General Counsel Samantha L. Price advised that: a) "the May 24, 2022 Board minutes available on our website are an example of how the Board minutes will appear going forward" and b) the minutes of every Board nonpublic (i.e. closed or executive) meeting held during 2020, 2021 and 2022 were exempt from disclosure because they were still in draft form.
RECORDS REQUESTED:
1. The minutes of each Board meeting held between January 1, 2020 and current date. Note that except for the Board's May 24, 2022 meeting minutes, none of the documents listed under the "Board Minutes" section of the school district's website qualify as meeting minutes. I wish to limit my request to only those minutes, such as those from May 24, 2022, that contain the "Sunshine Law" statement that, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 10:4-10, specifies the time, place, and manner in which adequate notice of the meeting was provided.
2. The minutes of all the Board's nonpublic (i.e. closed or executive) meetings held between January 1, 2020 and current date.
3. Unless they are fully spread out in the public meeting minutes responsive to No. 1 above, the resolutions, required by N.J.S.A. 10:4-13, adopted prior to each nonpublic (i.e. closed or executive) meeting held between January 1, 2020 and current date.
Dear Mr. Paff:
The Camden City School District (“District”) is in receipt of your request for records pursuant to the Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”), N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1, et seq., received by the District via email on February 18, 2023. Specifically, you requested: (1) Minutes of all Camden City School Board public meetings held between January 1, 2020 and the current date; (2) Minutes of all Camden City School Board nonpublic (i.e. closed or executive) meetings held between January 1, 2020 and the current date; and (3) unless they are fully spread out in the public meeting minutes responsive to No. 1 above, the resolutions, required by N.J.S.A. 10:4-13, related to each nonpublic (i.e. closed or executive) meeting held between January 1, 2020 and the current date.
Please be advised that the District is still in the process of reviewing all responsive records. Accordingly, we are requesting a two-week extension to respond to your request, through March 17, 2023.
If you have any questions regarding this response, you may contact me at the email address or phone number below. Should you disagree with this response, you have the right to appeal. OPRA permits a person who believes he or she has been illegally denied access to a public record to file a complaint with the GRC, or file suit in Superior Court to challenge the decision and compel disclosure. For more information, you may contact GRC by phone at 1-866-850-0511, by e-mail at [email address], or visit the GRC web site at https://nj.gov/grc/.
Sincerely,
Samantha L. Price, Esq.| General Counsel
Camden City School District|1033 Cambridge Street| Camden, NJ 08105
(c) 856-220-0978
(o) 856-966-2000 x64330
[email address]
Dear Ms. Price:
We are now beyond the March 17th deadline and I have yet to receive anything further from you. Please advise.
Sincerely,
John Paff
Good morning, Mr. Paff:
I apologize for the delay in responding to this request as I was out of the office unexpectedly at the end of last week. We will respond to your request by the close of business tomorrow, March 21, 2023.
Sincerely,
Samantha L. Price, Esq.| General Counsel
Camden City School District|1033 Cambridge Street| Camden, NJ 08105
(c) 856-220-0978
(o) 856-966-2000 x64330
[email address]
Dear Mr. Paff:
The Camden City School District (“District”) is in receipt of your request for records pursuant to the Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”), N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1, et seq., received by the District via email on February 18, 2023. Specifically, you requested: (1) the minutes of each Board meeting held between January 1, 2020 and current date; (2) the minutes of all the Board's nonpublic (i.e. closed or executive) meetings held between January 1, 2020 and current date; and (3) unless they are fully spread out in the public meeting minutes responsive to No. 1 above, the resolutions, required by N.J.S.A. 10:4-13, adopted prior to each nonpublic (i.e. closed or executive) meeting held between January 1, 2020 and current date.
In response to request number (2), please be advised that the requested minutes of the closed session of the Advisory Board are still in draft form and, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 47:A-1.1, are not subject to disclosure as “inter-agency or intra-agency, consultative or deliberative material.” (See also O'Shea v. West Milford Board of Education, 391 N.J.Super. 534, 536-37 (App. Div. 2007; Atl. City Convention Ctr. Auth. v. S. Jersey Publ. Co., 135 N.J. 53, 63 (1994)).
In response to request numbers (1) and (3), please find an electronic copy of the minutes for the years requested on our website at the following links: https://camdencityschools.org/board-minu... and https://camdencityschools.org/board-minu.... As previously relayed to you in response to the August OPRA request, the District's meeting agendas and minute reporting process is being revised based upon feedback the District received from the Camden County Office of Education. Beginning in October 2022, the District began using Board Docs for both the board agenda and minutes reporting to ensure compliance with OPMA.
As this is a period of transition for the District to ensure our minutes reporting is compliant, the District welcomes any feedback you may have in this regard. In addition, the District is amenable to scheduling a meeting to discuss the changes made to the minutes reporting process. Please do not hesitate to reach out to myself or our School Business Administrator, Ray Coxe, to schedule a meeting.
If you have any questions regarding this response, you may contact me at the email address or phone number below. Should you disagree with this response, you have the right to appeal. OPRA permits a person who believes he or she has been illegally denied access to a public record to file a complaint with the GRC, or file suit in Superior Court to challenge the decision and compel disclosure. For more information, you may contact GRC by phone at 1-866-850-0511, by e-mail at [email address], or visit the GRC web site at https://nj.gov/grc/.
Sincerely,
Samantha L. Price, Esq.| General Counsel
Camden City School District|1033 Cambridge Street| Camden, NJ 08105
(c) 856-220-0978
(o) 856-966-2000 x64330
[email address]