Another citizen speaks up
Jul 24th, 2007 by dani_k
We received another story from a reader, Albert Jacobs, regarding his concerns about his local school district. Albert has his own blog, Oley Concerned Citizens , which details residents’ concerns about the school district.
Thanks, Albert, for sending us your stories. If any of you out there have similar stories, please share them with us.
Albert writes…
The Oley Valley School District had a public meeting on January 10, 2007. The administration gave the board a document containing “big ticket requests”. These requests were for the proposed 2007-2008 budget.
A district employee, the business manager, prepared them.
The list did not contain any confidential information such as real estate negotiations, contract negotiations, or personnel information.
Nor did it contain any correspondence with a lawyer.The business manager refused to provide the audience with the same information she gave to the board.
A formal Right to Know request was sent to the district for the list.
The board solicitor sent a letter in response and denied access. He declared the items in question were a “work product of the Board of Directors” and therefore, not a public record.
The public has every right to know what a school board intends to do with their tax dollars in order to comment on such expenditures prior to approval.
The effort to shield the board from scrutiny and transparency violates the Right to Know law.