October 25, 2021

The Ridgewood Public Schools received your Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request on October 22, 2021. As the official Records Custodian, I received your OPRA request on October 22, 2021. As such, the seven (7) business day deadline to respond to your request is November 2, 2021. This response to your request is being provided to you on the 1st business day after the custodian’s receipt of said request.

Your OPRA request sought access to the following:

1. Vendor Activity Report for School Year 2020-2021 in Excel Format.
2. Vendor Activity Report for the current school year in Excel Format.

Currently, your request fails to identify with reasonable clarity the specific government records sought, as is required by Bent v. Stafford Police Department, 381 N.J.Super. 30, 37 (App. Div. 2005). At this time, we request clarification of your OPRA request. Please respond in writing and identify the specific government records sought so that we may process your request. Failure to provide written clarification of your request will result in the closure of this OPRA request.

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 [insert name of agency] 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 [email address], or at their website at 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.

Sincerely,

Scott T. Bisig
Business Administrator
Ridgewood Public Schools

November 1, 2021

Dear Sir/Madam:
The Ridgewood Public Schools received your Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request on October 22, 2021. You requested the following records:

1. Vendor Activity Report for School Year 2020-2021 in Excel Format.
2. Vendor Activity Report for the current school year in Excel Format.

By correspondence dated October 25, 2021, you were asked to clarify your request as the District could not identify with reasonable clarity the specific government record requested. On the same date, you replied that a “Vendor Activity Report” is a “standard term in the accounting system.” The District conducted a search for the requested records, and despite your assertion, the District is not in possession of any records entitled “Vendor Activity Report.” Accordingly, please clarify your request to identify the specific data you are seeking so that the District can conduct a search for responsive records. If a clarification is not received by November 4, 2021, your OPRA request will be closed.

Sincerely,

Scott T. Bisig
Business Administrator
Ridgewood Public Schools

November 10, 2021

Dear Sir/Madam:

The Ridgewood Public Schools (“District”) records custodian received your Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”) request on November 1, 2021. The seven business day deadline to respond to your request is November 10, 2021. As such, the District is timely responding to your OPRA request in accordance with New Jersey law.

Your OPRA request seeks the following records:

1. An export report of “Vendor History Report” from school’s accounting software for School Year 202-2021 in Excel Format, including column headers.

2. An export “Vendor History Report” from school’s accounting software for current school year in Excel Format, including column headers.

On the following dropbox links please find two hundred and one (201) pages of records that the District has identified as responsive to your request. Please be advised that student record information has been redacted. See L.R. v. Camden City Public School District, 238 N.J. 547 (2019). N.J.S.A. 47:1A-9(b) allows exemptions from disclosure for any grant of confidentiality established or recognized by the Constitution of this State, statute, court rule, or judicial case law, to apply to OPRA. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”), 20 U.S.C. 1232(g) and its supplemental regulations codified under 34 C.F.R. § 99.30, precludes schools from disclosing student names and personal identifying information without obtaining consent. See also N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7.1 to -7.8.

The remainder of the redactions have been made to remove information pertaining to health insurance benefits which falls within the personnel records exemption. Personnel records are not considered “government records” under OPRA and are thus exempt from disclosure. N.J.S.A 47:1A-10.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/q8ot8mbgtu2rq0...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ekoy1cgxqq9rrw...

Your OPRA request is now deemed answered and closed.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Very truly yours,

Scott Bisig
Business Administrator/Board Secretary

Dear Sir or Madam,

At your request, we have reviewed the attached files and can confirm that the correct reports for each year requested were attached with our original reply.

Kind regards,

Scott T. Bisig
Business Administrator
Ridgewood Public Schools