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Perrysburg district says tip line mostly functioning; public‑records requests raise privacy questions
Summary
District officials reported three recent tip‑line reports — all from one complainant — and told the board they are consulting counsel after a public‑records request for tip‑line material. Administrators reiterated the tip line’s intended use and warned about FERPA and privacy constraints.
Perrysburg Exempted Village School District administrators updated the board on the district’s tip line and related public‑records requests during the May 19 meeting, saying recent activity has raised legal and privacy questions.
Superintendent Hosler said the district received three additional tip‑line reports since the last board meeting; all were from the same complainant. Two referenced historical decisions (one hiring decision from 2013 and an archived 2019 student complaint) and the other was a disagreement over a support‑services decision, Hosler said. He told trustees those matters had been addressed previously and that no new substantive information had been submitted.
The administration also informed the board that it has received a public‑records request seeking tip‑line records and that the district has engaged counsel to determine what information is subject to disclosure under relevant law. “We’re working with our attorney on that,” Hosler said at the meeting.
The district reiterated the tip line’s intended purpose: to report complaints about staff conduct or to follow up on prior staff‑related complaints. Administrators and a board member noted that some community members are using the tip line for student‑to‑student concerns that are more appropriately handled through building‑level chains of command, and that those types of records raise different privacy rules.
Board discussion referenced federal student‑privacy rules in the context of public records. A trustee noted that the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) limits disclosure of student disciplinary matters and said public‑records requests do not entitle requestors to protected student information.
The nut graf: the district is keeping the tip‑line process under review to balance transparency, confidentiality and legal obligations, and is consulting counsel on how best to respond to public‑records requests that may include sensitive material.
Administration said it will post regular summaries of tip‑line activity and outcomes for transparency and will continue to refine guidance about the line’s scope to reduce inappropriate submissions while preserving a reporting avenue for staff‑related allegations.
