Letters: Resident Request City School Board to Use Correct OPRA Form

Dear President Llewellyn and Board Members:

I write this individually as a resident of Gloucester City and as an Open Government Activist about the Gloucester City School District Open Public Records Act form.

I was prompted to your website when I wished to file an OPRA request on February 2, 2011. I have some concerns about the boards current form. Under NJSA 47:1A, a public agency OPRA’s form must contain a statement of the requestor’s right to challenge a decision by the public agency to deny access and produce for filing an appeal. Although the current OPRA form utilized by the school district does contain some of that information I do not believe it is as clear as it should be. In addition the current OPRA form does not provide adequate space for the requestor to fill out a request nor does it list exemptions under OPRA.

Furthermore, the current OPRA form also does not include the copying fees (payment information) or means of delivery of the requests: mail, e-mail, fax or on site inspection. I have attached to this letter the sample OPRA form provided by the Government Records Council (GRC) of the State of New Jersey.

It is my hope that the board will adopt the GRC form and be fully in compliance with the Open Public Records Act of the State of New Jersey. 

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

John P. Schmidt