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District legal staff reminds board of public-records procedure as school year begins
Summary
Legal counsel reviewed public-records rules, the district custodian contact, fees and timelines, and said the district will add an assistant to speed responses; board members were reminded how to refer requests and how the district charges for staff time and redaction.
The board received a procedural refresher on public-records requests from district legal staff at the July 22 work session, with a focus on who handles requests, notification steps and cost-recovery rules.
Lede/Nut graf: Paul Gibbs, the district attorney/legal staff speaker at the meeting, reviewed how public-records requests should be handled, reminded board members not to direct requesters to staff other than the records custodian, and said the district will add a records‑assistant position to speed processing.
What legal staff told the board: - Custodian and process: The designated public-records custodian is Casey Pacaro (contact details provided during the session). Board members and staff should record requests and refer requesters to the custodian rather than assembling records themselves. Anonymous requests are permitted; requesters may supply contact information but are not required to do so. - Timing and fees: Charges for copies are 15¢ per page and staff time is chargeable if the request requires more than 15 minutes of staff work. Large requests can require a deposit before records are processed; redaction and exemptions (for example, student education records) will affect what is produced and may require review time. - Staffing: Legal staff said the district will advertise an assistant public-records role to help the custodian and speed turnaround times; they also noted that IT and other departments are often involved and can affect response timing.
Ending: The board was directed to forward any public-records requests to the custodian email or phone number and to avoid promising turnarounds. Gibbs said sample response language and forms would be made available to board members.
