Request for certain email communications of the members of the Ridgewood Board of Education
Sent via OPRAmachine.com
Date: September 15, 2020
Summary: Request for certain email communications of the members of the Ridgewood Board of Education
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:
Please provide a complete and accurate electronic copy of emails containing any of the display names listed below and or explicit email addresses on either the To or From lines of any email communications for the period 8/15/2020 - 9/15/2020 for the 3 custodian names listed below. Please note that we are requesting that both display names and explicit email addresses are searched independently, this is for the reason that personal email addresses may be mixed with board business emails, so a search for the display name that contains "Sheila Brogan" on the To and or From fields, which may have a sender address of <[email address]>, should be produced.
Custodians/Board Member Names
1) Sheila Brogan
2) Cristopher Kaufman
3) Daniel Fishbein
4) Michael Lembo
Display Names:
Sheila Brogan
Cristopher Kaufman
Chris Kaufman
Daniel Fishbein
Dan Fishbein
Michael Lembo
Mike Lembo
Explicit SMTP EMail Addresses:
[email address]
[email address]
[email address]
[email address]
Respectfully,
School Ethics (SEA)
cc: Board Chair, Michael Lembo ([email address])
SCHOOL ETHICS OF AMERICA (SEA): School Ethics of the United States of America is the name we operate under for consistency in our efforts and we are not incorporated nor have a website. We operate to assist and inform with the purpose of preventing ethics violations. Our group is 100% volunteer driven and has volunteers with representation in every state. We advise and inform on what we believe are ethics or probable ethics infractions. We have an active list of public charter schools, school boards, and affiliated organizations that our members regularly monitor. We notify school boards, authorizers, state boards and escalate to the states attorney general’s office’s on matters that we research and believe warrant attention. We maintain a fact based evidence and provider of information perspective. We have a formal leadership structure and our volunteers are made up of professionals and non-professionals from all walks of life. We perform our work anonymously for the safety of our volunteers. Our volunteers accepts no liability for the content of this email, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided and while every care has been taken in the preparation of this information, and they are believed to be correct, they are not warranted and readers should satisfy themselves as to the correctness of the information given.
ANONYMOUS FOIA REQUEST: Many states allow for the request of public records to be made anonymously. More information on FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) can be obtained here: FOIA.GOV and Wikipedia
Important Notice: We are not a surrogate FOIA request agency. More information on surrogate FOIA request can be obtained at the Department of Justice website.
Good Morning:
I'm in receipt of your Open Public Records Act request. I'll respond
within the required time frame.
Sincerely,
Antoinette Kelly,CPA
School Business Administrator
Board Secretary
Ridgewood Public Schools
49 Cottage Place
Ridgewood, NJ 07450
Phone: 201-670-2700 Ext10503
[1]Email:[email address]
Dear School Ethics of America,
I am in receipt of your September 15, 2020 Open Public Records Act request
(below) requesting copies of all emails containing any of the display
names listed below and or explicit email addresses on either the To or
From lines of any email communications for the period 8/15/2020 -
9/15/20. Pursuant to the current pandemic rules (See
attachment: [1]https://www.state.nj.us/grc/news/alerts/...)
, I, as Custodian of Records, will need additional time for myself and
district professionals to gather the requested documents and formulate
responses. Specifically, the emails you requested need to be thoroughly
reviewed and confidential student and certain identifying personnel
information needs to be redacted. Similarly, according to N.J.S.A.
47:1-1.1, deliberative, consultative and advisory communications by and
between the Board members and the Superintendent also need to be redacted
as they are not subject to disclosure. For these reasons, the responses
will not be available until October 16, 2020. There will be a special
services charge for my time and that of our IT professionals and attorneys
for an estimated 30 hours to conduct the review and make the necessary
redactions. Total estimated cost is $4500.00. A 15% deposit of $675.00
is due on October 2, 2020 to begin the process, with the balance of $3,825
due on October 9, 2020. Please make checks payable to the Ridgewood Board
of Education. Once full payment is received, responses will be sent to
you by October 16, 2020.
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 district’s decision 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 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, New Jersey 08625, by
email at [2][email address] , or at their website
at [3]www.state.nj.us/grc. The Council 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,
Antoinette Kelly,CPA
School Business Administrator
Board Secretary
Ridgewood Public Schools
49 Cottage Place
Ridgewood, NJ 07450
Phone: 201-670-2700 Ext10503
[4]Email:[email address]
Dear Antoinette Kelly,
Thank you for the information, we understand that the request is overly broad and will require a $4,500USD fee to produce the information. We will amend the request and re-issue through the OPRAmachine.
Respectfully,
School Ethics (SEA)
SCHOOL ETHICS OF AMERICA (SEA): School Ethics of the United States of America is the name we operate under for consistency in our efforts and we are not incorporated nor have a website. We operate to assist and inform with the purpose of preventing ethics violations. Our group is 100% volunteer driven and has volunteers with representation in every state. We advise and inform on what we believe are ethics or probable ethics infractions. We have an active list of public charter schools, school boards, and affiliated organizations that our members regularly monitor. We notify school boards, authorizers, state boards and escalate to the states attorney general’s office’s on matters that we research and believe warrant attention. We maintain a fact based evidence and provider of information perspective. We have a formal leadership structure and our volunteers are made up of professionals and non-professionals from all walks of life. We perform our work anonymously for the safety of our volunteers. Our volunteers accepts no liability for the content of this email, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided and while every care has been taken in the preparation of this information, and they are believed to be correct, they are not warranted and readers should satisfy themselves as to the correctness of the information given.
ANONYMOUS FOIA REQUEST: Many states allow for the request of public records to be made anonymously. More information on FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) can be obtained here: FOIA.GOV and Wikipedia
Important Notice: We are not a surrogate FOIA request agency. More information on surrogate FOIA request can be obtained at the Department of Justice website.
Dear Antoinette Kelly,
We are withdrawing this request. It will be amended in a new request.
Respectfully,
School Ethics (SEA)
SCHOOL ETHICS OF AMERICA (SEA): School Ethics of the United States of America is the name we operate under for consistency in our efforts and we are not incorporated nor have a website. We operate to assist and inform with the purpose of preventing ethics violations. Our group is 100% volunteer driven and has volunteers with representation in every state. We advise and inform on what we believe are ethics or probable ethics infractions. We have an active list of public charter schools, school boards, and affiliated organizations that our members regularly monitor. We notify school boards, authorizers, state boards and escalate to the states attorney general’s office’s on matters that we research and believe warrant attention. We maintain a fact based evidence and provider of information perspective. We have a formal leadership structure and our volunteers are made up of professionals and non-professionals from all walks of life. We perform our work anonymously for the safety of our volunteers. Our volunteers accepts no liability for the content of this email, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided and while every care has been taken in the preparation of this information, and they are believed to be correct, they are not warranted and readers should satisfy themselves as to the correctness of the information given.
ANONYMOUS FOIA REQUEST: Many states allow for the request of public records to be made anonymously. More information on FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) can be obtained here: FOIA.GOV and Wikipedia
Important Notice: We are not a surrogate FOIA request agency. More information on surrogate FOIA request can be obtained at the Department of Justice website.