Apologies for the delay, but we do anticipate providing a response tomorrow for the following:

Dear Perth Amboy School District,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Open Public Records Act reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Perth Amboy School District's handling of my OPRA request 'Request for Valedictorian and Salutatorian for Perth Amboy High School Class of 2001'.

I have been attempting to locate information regarding the Valedictorian and Salutatorian for Perth Amboy High School for the Class of 2001 for quite some time now. There are no records online that I can find to answer my question. I've submitted this OPRA Request and it is long overdue.

A full history of my OPRA request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://opramachine.com/request/request_...

show quoted sections

Via Electronic Mail
Anthony J. Mislan
Dear Anthony J. Mislan:
You have requested records from the Perth Amboy Board of Education
(“Board” or “District”) pursuant to an Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”)
request.
At this time the following is provided in response to your request.
1. Names of both the Valedictorian and Salutatorian for the Perth Amboy
High School Class of 2001.
Your request for “general ledger entries and related expenditure records”
is overly vague and / or unclear and fails to identify with reasonable
clarity the specific government records to which you seek access. See MAG
Entertainment, LLC v. Division Alcoholic Beverage Control, 375 N.J. Super.
534 (App. Div. 2005); Bent v. Stafford Police Dep’t, 381 N.J. Super. 30
(App. Div. 2005). In this regard, the Appellate Division has 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.) MAG
Entertainment, LLC at 546. The Court further held that "[u]nder 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." (Emphasis added.) Id. at 549. N.J.S.A.
47:1A-1.1 defines a government record as “…any paper…document…that has
been made, maintained, or kept on file… in the course of official
business.” OPRA does not require public agencies “to identify and siphon
useful information. Rather, OPRA simply operates to make identifiable
government records ‘readily accessible for inspection, copying, or
examination.” MAG Entertainment, LLC v. Division of Alcoholic Beverage
Control, 375 N.J. Super. 534 (App. Div. March 2005). Thus, the requestor
must specifically identify the records sought. Moreover, public agencies
are not required to provide a record that does not exist or to create a
record. N.J.S.A. 47:1A-9; Librizzi v. Township of Verona Police
Department, GRC Complaint No. 2009-213 (August 2010); See also Mag
Entertainment, LLC v. Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, 375 N.J.
Super. 534 (App. Div. March 2005). A request seeking non-electronically
stored information or asking questions is not a valid request. See e.g.
Rummel v. Cumberland Cnty. Bd. of Chosen Freeholders, GRC Complaint No.
2011-168 (December 2012). Your request is not a valid request as it is
asking a question and not seeking a specific government record.
Furthermore, pursuant to the OPRA, student records and records with
student “personally identifiable information,” are not subject to
disclosure under the OPRA as they are protected under the Family and
Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”), 20 U.S.C. 1232g, and its
implementing regulations at 34 C.F.R. 99.1 et seq., and the New Jersey
Pupil Records Act, N.J.S.A. 18A:36-19, and its implementing regulations at
N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7.1 et seq. See N.J.S.A. 47:1A-9(a)-(b). Notably, FERPA
prohibits the release of any “personally identifiable information,” which
includes any information which “alone or in combination, is linked or
linkable to a specific student that would allow a reasonable person in the
school community, who does not have personal knowledge of the relevant
circumstances, to identify the student with reasonable certainty.” 34
C.F.R. 99.3.
As such, your request is denied.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Michael LoBrace
Custodian of Records

Perth Amboy Public Schools

178 Barracks St. | Perth Amboy, NJ 08861

732.376.6200,   Ext. 30-120

[1][Perth Amboy School District request email]

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

From: Anthony J. Mislan
<[OPRA #85869 email]>
Sent: Thursday, May 7, 2026 9:46 AM
To: LOBRACE : MICHAEL <[email address]>
Subject: Re: OPRA request - Request for Valedictorian and Salutatorian for
Perth Amboy High School Class of 2001
 
Dear Perth Amboy School District,

Good morning I have been waiting for a response to my OPRA request for
almost 4 months.  Is there anyway to get an update?

Yours faithfully,

Anthony J. Mislan

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