Opra request
Dear Ridgefield School District,
Please accept this electronic request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form or use a particular software platform to submit my request per NJSA 47:1A-5(f), which states that an email from a requestor including all of the information required on the adopted form shall suffice in place of a completed form as a valid government record request.
I HAVE NOT been convicted of any indictable offense under the laws of New Jersey, any other state, or the United States.
I WILL NOT use the requested government records for a commercial purpose.
I AM NOT seeking records in connection with a legal proceeding.
Records requested:
Please provide copy of 11/16/2023 closed session minutes and copy of encrypted email which Rafael Morilla allegedly received.
Please provide copy of Rafael Morilla emails and telephone logs and text messages to all staff members of Ridgefield staff members from 11/15/2023 thru 11/17/2023
My preferred delivery method for response(s) to this request is by E-mail as attachments. Please confirm you have received this request. If you are not the custodian of records, please forward my request to that person and provide their email address to me for future reference.
Yours faithfully,
Phil Nadler
Mr. Nadler,
This email is to acknowledge receipt of your Open Public Records Act
(OPRA) request. Your request was received after business hours on May 1,
2026, and is therefore deemed received on the next business day, May 4,
2026.
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(i), the statutory seven (7) business day
response period applies. Accordingly, a response to your request is due on
or before May 13, 2026.
Your request seeks the following records:
• Closed session minutes from November 16, 2023
• A copy of an encrypted email allegedly received by Rafael Morilla
• Emails, telephone logs, and text messages from Rafael Morilla to
Ridgefield staff members from November 15, 2023 through November 17,
2023
The District is currently reviewing your request. Please note that certain
records, including closed session minutes and personnel-related
communications, may be subject to exemptions under OPRA or may require
redaction prior to release. Additionally, clarification may be required if
the request is determined to be overly broad or unclear.
If additional time is needed to respond, or if clarification is required,
you will be notified in writing.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Dear Mr. Nadler,
Attached you will find the response to your OPRA request submitted on May
4, 2026.
Thank you.
--
Regards,
Kelvin Hiciano, MBA, MPA
Business Administrator/Board Secretary
Ridgefield Public Schools
555 Chestnut Street
Ridgefield, NJ 07657-1825
Office: 201-945-0476
Fax No: 201-313-4582
Email: [1][email address]
This e-mail message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and
may contain certain confidential and privileged information. Any
unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you
are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by e-mail and
destroy all copies of the original message.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
Dear Mr. Nadler:
The Ridgefield Public Schools (“District”) records custodian received your
Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”) and common law request (“Request”) on May
4, 2026. On May 13, 2026, the District obtained an extension of the
response deadline until June 10, 2026. As such, the District is timely
responding to your Request in accordance with New Jersey law.
Your Request seeks the following:
Please provide a copy of 11/16/2023 closed session minutes and copy of
encrypted email which Rafael Morilla allegedly received.
Please provide copy of Rafael Morilla emails and telephone logs and text
messages to all staff members of Ridgefield staff members [sic] from
11/15/2023 thru 11/17/2023.
With respect to the portion of your Request seeking the November 16, 2023
closed session minutes, the District conducted a good faith search and
identified the enclosed minutes as responsive. Please be advised
that contents of the minutes have been redacted as they contain
attorney-client privileged discussions, as well as communications
protected from disclosure by the District’s deliberative process
privilege. See N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1 (exempting “inter-agency advisory,
consultative, or deliberative material” and “records that are
attorney-client privileged” from the definition of a “government record”).
The redacted contents of the minutes are pre-decisional and deliberative
in nature, and reflect legal advice sought/rendered in the course of the
lawyer-client relationship and in professional confidence. Please be
advised that contents of the minutes have also redacted as they
constitute “personnel records” within the meaning of N.J.S.A. 47:1A-10.
None of the exceptions within N.J.S.A. 47:1A-10 that require certain
personnel records to be made available for public access in particular
circumstances are applicable to the redacted minutes...
With respect to the portion of your Request seeking Rafael Morilla emails,
telephone logs and text messages, please be advised that same is legally
deficient pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(g) (providing that a records
custodian shall not be required to search for responsive communications if
the request fails to identify the specific accounts, a specific subject
matter, and a reasonable time period for the search). Please note that
“staff members of Ridgefield staff members” does not constitute a specific
sender/recipient to allow for the District to conduct searches for
specific accounts for the communications that you are purportedly seeking,
in addition to failing to provide a specific subject matter. Moreover,
your Request purportedly requires the District’s records custodian to
conduct research and exercise judgment as to who may constitute a “staff
member,” which is beyond the legal obligations of a records custodian
under OPRA. As such, the District is not legally obligated to search for
and/or produce any potentially responsive communications based upon the
parameters of your Request.
To the extent that you are seeking access to any of the records pursuant
to the common law right of access, please be advised that your Request is
similarly deficient for the reasons stated above, as well as due to your
lack of any purported interest in accessing any of the records at issue.
Your Request is now deemed answered and closed.
Regards,
Kelvin Hiciano, MBA, MPA
Business Administrator/Board Secretary
Ridgefield Public Schools
555 Chestnut Street
Ridgefield, NJ 07657-1825
Office: 201-945-0476
Fax No: 201-313-4582
Email: [1][email address]
This e-mail message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and
may contain certain confidential and privileged information. Any
unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you
are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by e-mail and
destroy all copies of the original message.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
Dear Kelvin Hiciano,
I have received your responsive email. Allow me to provide clarification. I am seeking emails, texts and logs relating to Rafael's Morillas Ridgefield Board of Education business whether such communication were on government accounts or personal accounts. I have no way of knowing how or on what account these communications were made, so I clarify that I want email , letters and text logs of all government business communications. I have provided a 2 day window which is very limited and well within the law. The "encrypted email"/ letter listed on page 2 should suffice as a description,.
I am also requesting the following
The statutory or legal basis for redacting the Board of Education members’ initials specifically on page 2 bullet points 4 thru 7
An explanation as to why this information remains confidential after such a significant passage of time over 30 months.
If the redactions are no longer warranted, I respectfully request that an unredacted copy of the minutes be provided.
Yours sincerely,
Phil Nadler
Hello,
I am out of the office with limited access to email. I will respond to
your inquiry upon my return on June 16th. If you need immediate
assistance please reach out to Daniel Gonzalez or Diana Beretin at
201-945-7747.
Thank you.
--
Regards,
Kelvin Hiciano, MBA, MPA
*Business Administrator/**Board Secretary*
*Ridgefield Public Schools*
555 Chestnut Street
Ridgefield, NJ 07657-1825
Office: 201-945-0476
Fax No: 201-313-4582
Email: [email address]
This e-mail message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and
may contain certain confidential and privileged information. Any
unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you
are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by e-mail and
destroy all copies of the original message.
Mr. Nadler,
The Ridgefield Board of Education acknowledges receipt of your email. As
the prior OPRA request was responded to and closed, your correspondence
will be treated as a new OPRA request to the extent it seeks additional
government records and information not encompassed within the prior
request.
As this is being treated as a new OPRA request, please provide responses
to the certifications contained on the District's OPRA request form. Once
this has been received the district will review and respond to any portion
of your submission that seeks identifiable government records maintained
by the district.
Thank you.