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Board hears FOIA appeal from President Melki; motion to reverse denial fails
Summary
Board President Chuck Melki appealed the district's denial of a FOIA request; the Board reviewed counsel's denial rationale, held a closed session to examine legal materials, and voted down a motion to reverse the denial.
Board President Chuck Melki introduced an appeal of the district's denial of his Freedom of Information Act request and asked the Board to consider reversing the denial.
Interim Deputy Superintendent Dave Simonsen read the district's denial language and said legal counsel advised that the request related to a civil action involving the requesting party and the district under Section 13(1). The explanation, as read into the record, was cited by board staff as the basis for withholding records.
The Board moved into closed session to review a document from legal counsel under the cited statutory authority. After returning to open session, a motion by Autumn Henry, supported by Kim Winter, sought to reverse the FOIA denial and "produce all non-exempt records responsive to the request, provide any reasonably segregable portions of records if partial exemptions are claimed, and identify with specificity any records withheld and the precise statutory basis for each redaction or denial." The motion failed on a roll-call vote (3 yes, 2 no, 1 abstain).
The vote tally recorded in the minutes was: Germain no; Melki abstain; Henry yes; Winter yes; Wolgast no; Engel yes. The minutes note the Board had earlier gone into closed session at 2:35 p.m. to review counsel's document and returned at 2:51 p.m.
The motion's denial leaves the district's initial FOIA determination intact for now; the Board did not adopt the reversal language and no further remedial direction is recorded in these minutes.
