The Government Records Office director denied an appeal by parent Jeffrey Oaks seeking handwritten notes taken by a Jordan School District employee during an investigation into alleged mistreatment by a school principal.

Oaks told the hearing the district employee (identified in the record as Odette) took notes during interviews and investigatory meetings, and he argued those notes were records because they related to an official investigation, informed agreements with the district (including restrictions on staff contact and notice before discipline), and were subject to retention schedules that require seven years of preservation. Oaks also alleged the district destroyed the notes after he requested them and asked the director to order recovery, grant access, or award compensation and sanctions for unlawful destruction.

District counsel said the district engaged in fact-finding after receiving Oaks’s complaints, produced responsive emails and other records, and investigated whether handwritten notes existed. Counsel reported the district employee told records staff she sometimes used handwritten notes or sticky notes as personal memory aids or talking points and that she discarded a temporary sticky note. The district provided electronic correspondence and other materials it regarded as the responsive investigative record and maintained the handwritten scraps were originator-only materials used for personal organization, not final or shared records.

During argument, counsel cited subsequent statutory clarifications that draw a clear distinction between personal notes or originator drafts used for the author’s own purposes and agency records that must be retained. The director reviewed precedent and the statutory amendments and concluded the originator-only draft provision applies: temporary, originator-only notes prepared as personal aids are not GRAMA records. The director found the district had produced the records it retained and that the handwritten notes at issue were not required to be preserved as GRAMA records. The appeal was denied.

The director noted the statutory revision that clarified originator-only drafts and personal notes and said the Government Records Office would review its website guidance to ensure it reflected current statutory language. Oaks may pursue other remedies available under law if he believes the district unlawfully destroyed records.