Derby Board reviews FY25-26 budget timetable, approves consent items and personnel updates; resident files open-records request alleging conflict of interest

A Derby resident raised a potential conflict of interest and filed a Kansas Open Records Act request while the Derby Board of Education reviewed its proposed fiscal year 2025–26 budget and approved routine consent items and personnel-policy updates during a July 21 board meeting.

Jason Morawski, who identified himself as a Derby resident, told the board he wanted records related to payments to Orion Education and Training and said he was making a formal Kansas Open Records Act request. "Pursuant to the Kansas Open Records Act, KSA 45 20 15, I am requesting access to the following public records," Morawski said, reading a written request he had placed in the board packet and asking for copies of payments from Jan. 1, 2024, to the present and a written explanation if any portion is denied.

The request followed Morawski's statement that he believed a board member, Tanya Giacobucci, had a potential conflict because her employer, Orion, provides professional development that he said was funded by the district under programs…