September 12, 2002; School District 276 (Minnetonka)
9/12/2002 10:14:43 AM
This is an opinion of the Commissioner of Administration issued pursuant to section 13.072 of Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13 - the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. It is based on the facts and information available to the Commissioner as described below.
Facts and Procedural History:On July 16, 2002, IPAD received a letter from Karen Lang. In her letter, Ms. Lang requested that the Commissioner issue an advisory opinion regarding her access to certain data Minnetonka Public School District 276 maintains. IPAD, on behalf of the Commissioner, wrote to Dennis Peterson, Superintendent of the District, in response to Ms. Lang's request. The purposes of this letter, dated July 22, 2002, were to inform him of Ms. Lang's request and to ask him to provide information or support for the District's position. On August 2, 2002, IPAD received a response, dated July 31, 2002, from Mark Wolak, the District's Assistant Superintendent for Administration and Accountability. A summary of the facts according to Ms. Lang is as follows. In a letter dated June 14, 2002, Ms. Lang asked to inspect any and all data pertaining to the employment contract of Head football coach Dave Nelson an employee of Minnetonka High School. In a letter dated June 17, 2002, Ms. Lang asked to inspect any and all data pertaining to any board minutes associated with Head football coach Dave Nelson an employee of Minnetonka High School. In a letter dated June 18, 2002, Ms. Lang asked to inspect any and all data pertaining to the district wide average teachers salary and range for the last three years. In her opinion request, Ms. Lang wrote that, as of that date (July 16, 2002), she had not received any response from the District. Issues:In her request for an opinion, Ms. Lang asked the Commissioner to address the following issues:
Discussion:Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 13.03, subdivision 2, when an individual requests public data of which s/he is not the subject, government entities are required to respond in an appropriate and prompt manner. Minnesota Rules, part 1205.0300, provides further guidance, stating that entities must respond within a reasonable time. In his comments to the Commissioner, Mr. Wolak provided no explanation as to why the District had not responded to Ms. Lang as of the date she submitted her opinion request. He stated only that he was attaching (to the Commissioner) a copy of the materials Ms. Lang requested. He also attached a copy of the District's letter to Ms. Lang, dated July 15, 2002. In this letter Mr. Wolak wrote, Enclosed are responses to three data practices requests we received in our office on June 17, 2002. Attached were a copy of (1) the minutes of the June 6, 2002, Minnetonka Board of Education regular meeting and a copy of a document entitled Recommended Personnel Changes ; (2) a document entitled 1999-2000 Salary Schedule, a document entitled 2000-2001 Salary Schedule, and a document entitled 2002-2003 Salary Schedule ; and (3) a document that appears to be the contract between Dave Nelson and the District. Apparently, the District received Ms. Lang's three data requests on June 17. It did not respond until July 15 - four weeks from the date of Ms. Lang's requests. Given the substance of Ms. Lang's requests, it does not seem the District's response was prompt, appropriate, or reasonable. This is especially the case given that Mr. Wolak offered no explanation as to why it took four weeks to make photocopies of several different documents. Thus, it is the Commissioner's opinion that the District did not respond appropriately to Ms. Lang's requests. Opinion:Based on the facts and information provided, my opinion on the issues that Ms. Lang raised is as follows:
Signed:
David F. Fisher
Dated: September 12, 2002 |
Response to data requests
Inappropriate response, generally
