What a ridiculous question it might be to ask if a red town has something in common with a blue city, especially if I make the question about 91A, but without the unpleasantness often involved in its pursuits. Every community’s operating budget has its own greedy monster, the schools, consuming about 70% of the funds, and it’s high time for all of us to up our game in doing something about it. 91A is one tool to utilize, and there is no Mayor Donchess or Attorney Bolton in Epsom, so things are quite civil, so far. However, I am starting to get the feeling that Mr Finley, the superintendent, and the business office are really not that eager to hand over the responsive materials to my May 7 request, which was for records from the past 12 months of funds paid to any vendor that has received a total of $5000 or more over the past year. Below is a timeline that I predict will ultimately resemble one belonging to Odysseus and Penelope, as I may grow old in this pursuit.
On the morning of May 7, I emailed all five members of the Epsom school board with my request. Chairman Wiggett replied within the hour that he forwarded my request to Superintendent Finley, though he was not copied. I promptly replied, thanking the chair and requesting Finley’s email. No sense in making extra work for anyone not inside the purview of the request. Late that afternoon, I got a reply with an apology for the delay included with the address.
Late in the afternoon of May 12, Mr Finley emailed me, pleasantly seeking clarity on my original request and mentioning the expense of making copies. I replied within the hour, clarifying my request and stating my preference for the responsive materials in an electronic format of their choice (attached files, links to sites, or on a data stick). He replied a few minutes later that he would “share this with (their) business department and get back to me if (they) have any further questions.”
After a 10-day wait without any word at all from anyone regarding my request, I followed up with a pleasant status update request on May 22, noting to Mr Finley that I don’t have contact information from the business department, hence my follow-up with him. Again, no sense in barking up the wrong trees and I was hoping that he would volunteer an email address of a contact person for further assistance, but I suppose I should be grateful that I wasn’t outright ignored. At 2:50pm, he replied with a “yes, I’ll let you know (when the material is ready)” and “if you’re able to provide a flash drive, that would be great.”
I bought the item two days later and decided to give him a few days for further instructions as I don’t know where the business department’s office is or if I am to bring it to them there or elsewhere.
Today (June 2), I emailed a picture of the flash drive in its unopened box, with the goal of gently reminding Mr Finley that I am still waiting and that I am not going to forget or give up and just go away. However, I’m still committed to good manners as long as I get the same in return, so I said, “My apologies for not being a geek, but I just picked out the least expensive one. Will the flash drive in this picture be suitable for the responsive material?” This would have been his opportunity to give me a progress update or excuse himself from receiving future emails by giving me a business department office contact person with email, but he instead promptly replied with just a “hello Julie, that one should be sufficient. Thank you, Jack.”
Bummer. The wait continues. Not knowing when the last day of school is in Epsom, I asked someone in a neighboring town and was told June 16 there. With nearly zero experience in dealing with school administrations, I am unsure what the reasonable expectations are in the post-COVID world. Does everyone just drop what they’re doing like Fred Flintstone at quitting time in the quarry? Do they take their laptop computers home or to their summer camps and log in once in a while just to prove there’s some activity? I am hoping to at least know when I can expect to receive the records I requested. I can picture a summer of email replies saying that the person needed for the ongoing processing of my request is (conveniently) on vacation.
As far as I know, Epsom doesn’t have its own Gary Perrin, nor do its schools. The Nashua modus operandi is for Gary to email the 91A requestor within five business days, usually saying that the request is voluminous and setting some date that’s usually about 30 days into the future. At or after 5:00 p.m. on Day 30, some or all the records will arrive in the inbox. If the former, the cover page states that the rest of the responsive material can be expected at some date, which is usually about 30 days later. Rinse, lather, repeat.
My question for readers who have plenty of late spring experience in doing school 91A requests is a two-part question. What’s the usual turnaround time, and does that time frame change after the last day of school?
