So SAU7 Colebrook School District Believes It Can Ignore NH’s Right To Know Law?

UPDATE before publishing:  Superintendent Taylor responded shortly after I emailed her this:

—— Original Message ——
From “Debra Taylor” <dtaylor@sau7.org>
To “Skip” <Skip@granitegrok.com>
Date 5/15/2023 1:57:59 PM
Subject Re: Re[2]: Response to Right to Know Request

Good Afternoon,

Your request has been received and I will reply within 5 business days.
Thank you.

Sincerely,

Debra J. Taylor, Ph.D.
Superintendent
School Administrative Unit 7
21 Academy St.
Colebrook, NH 03576
603-237-5571
SAU 7 – Serving the Schools and Communities of Clarksville, Colebrook, Columbia, Pittsburg and Stewartstown   Where our mission is: “To prepare all SAU #7 students for success in whatever path they choose.”

So far, she’s not been “successful” in handling Right To Know demands. In the meantime, I think that I will ready Option “Clause 7” below.

I restarted the process of getting the District’s libraries card catalog – a simple list of books.  I had originally asked back in the fall, it dropped off my table, but I restarted the process back on May 5th by sending another email and an updated Right to Know demand (“Colebrook School District (SAU7) – Time To Cough Up Your District’s Card Catalog”). I asked, she told me that I could look up the books myself (she sent search URL’s instead of the list as demanded), and I told her that was insufficient on May 5th:

The card catalogs for the Colebrook School District schools are maintained digitally and can be found at the following hyperlink:  https://sau7.follettdestiny.com/common/welcome.jsp?context=saas121_2800084

That response from you is insufficient and is not a proper response to my legal demand which was for the contents of the SAU7 card catalog. It is for the entire card catalog that makes up the Responsive Record that must be returned to me.  A Respondent cannot fluff off their duty under RSA 91-A to the Requester to do the work themselves; this is not how it works.  Sorry but this is not a grocery store where everyone has to self-check themselves out. Thus I am reissuing my RSA 91-A / Right To Know demand to the District for the  District’s card catalog.

The Law requires some kind of response from the District in five business days – that was last week. Given that she didn’t return my call of last week, I decided to prompt her today:

—— Original Message ——
From “Skip” <Skip@granitegrok.com>
To “Debra Taylor” <dtaylor@sau7.org>
Date 5/15/2023 12:54:27 PM
Subject Re[2]: Response to Right to Know Request

Good afternoon,

The Colebrook School District is now out of compliance with the time stricture set by RSA 91-A:4:

IV. (a) Each public body or agency shall, upon request for any governmental record reasonably described, make available for inspection and copying any such governmental record within its files when such records are immediately available for such release.
(b) If a public body or agency is unable to make a governmental record available for immediate inspection and copying the public body or agency shall, within 5 business days of a request:
(1) Make such record available;
(2) Deny the request; or
(3) Provide a written statement of the time reasonably necessary to determine whether the request shall be granted or denied and the reason for the delay.
(c) A public body or agency denying, in whole or part, inspection or copying of any record shall provide a written statement of the specific exemption authorizing the withholding of the record and a brief explanation of how the exemption applies to the record withheld.

At this point in time, SAU7 is now responsible for supplying the following Governmental records:

• The card catalog of materials found in the District’s school libraries
• Contact information for the Elected Representatives that manage the District on behalf of their constituents.

Please remember that RSA 91-A provides relief for Requesters that find themselves in the situation we are in when Responders refuse their lawful duty to supply lawfully demanded Government records via Clauses 91-A:7 and 91-A:8. The former gives the Requester to use the services of the State’s Right To Know Ombudsman process. The latter allows a Requester to take the Respondent to Superior Court.

I have no problem with using either process.

It is my expectation that I will hear back from you within two days or I will begin one of those processes for what is a list of books and how Citizens can reach the elected members of the School Board (and neither of those data elements are covered under RSA 91-A:5.).

-Skip

Her move.  I wonder if she knows that we have lawyers that write for us?