Did Charter Violate State Law?

The back and forth started Thursday afternoon when the  threatened the Cherokee Charter Academy.

District spokeswoman Barbara Jacoby said if the school did not respond to a , Cherokee would report "the violation" to the Georgia Attorney General's Office.

The district said the school missed a May 27 deadline to turn over enrollment data. Officials at Cherokee Charter Academy, , said it broke no laws and a May 27 letter to the district proves as much.

The district's warning set off a firestorm: a  and an .

Now the question is, which side is right?

The answer to that question depends on who you ask. It seems everyone has a different interpretation of the law.

Lauren Kane, spokeswoman for the Georgia Attorney General's Office, said it was inappropriate for her to comment on the Cherokee brouhaha. However, she said if an agency responds to a public records request within three business days, that's enough. Cherokee Charter Academy responded before the deadline, but said it needed more time to compile the information.

"You either have to produce the documents or send a letter within three days saying why you can't produce the documents," she said.

Hollie Manheimer, executive director of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation, has another perspective. 

The Georgia's Open Records Request Act allows only three possible responses to a request within the 3-business day response period, she said.

An agency must provide the records, estimate when the records will be available or deny the request based on a specific portion of the law. Cherokee Charter Academy did not provide any of the above.

"Compliance with the timeframes set out in the open records act is not optional, and failure to respond within the proper time frame can subject the public agency to penalties," Manheimer said.

In a May 27 letter that accompanied Cherokee Charter Academy's revised petition, the head of the Georgia Charter Educational Foundation wrote this:

"With regard to your request for a list of students enrolled in Cherokee Charter Academy we need additional time  to compile the information. We will provide information to the Board in the next week."

As of today, the district still has not received the information from the foundation, which governs Cherokee Charter Academy.

And the district may never get it, according to .

"We have been advised by our attorney that your request does not fall under the open records law and we are not obligated to provide that information to you," board member Lyn Michaels-Carden wrote on the foundation's behalf. "We have also been advised that we would be violating the privacy act by providing the names of students enrolled, as you requested. We will provide schools and grades because we do understand you need that information for budgeting purposes."

The Cherokee County School District stands by its position. This afternoon, .

"The comments in your letter are not accurate," she said. "Responding that you 'need additional time' and 'will provide the information in the next week' does not meet the law's requirements."

WHAT THE LAW STATES

When a record is readily available and subject to public access, access should be provided immediately. Even when a record is not readily available, an agency must provide access to the record within three business days unless the record cannot be made available within that time. In this circumstance (where the record cannot be made available within three business days) the agency must write the respondent within three days providing a description of the documents and stating a timetable for their production.

Similarly, if an agency is relying on an Open Records Act exception in not producing a record or information in a record, it must so state in writing within three business days. The letter must also state the specific legal authority exempting the record from disclosure, including the code section, subsection, and paragraph. Alternatively, within that period of three business days, an agency may obtain an order from a superior court staying or refusing the requested access to the record.

If the agency is going to charge for any of its costs (see Section VIII) for producing the record, it must provide an estimate of its costs in writing within three business days as well. The respondent must agree to these costs before they can be charged, so agencies often request a written confirmation from the requester that they agree to pay the costs. Agencies generally may not insist on prepayment, however, as a condition to complying with the Open Records Act.

ONE LAW, DIFFERENT OPINIONS

"Georgia's open records act allows only three possible responses to an open records request within the three business day response period, 1. providing the records, 2. providing an estimated timetable of when the records will be available, or 3. in very limited instances denying the request based on a specific portion of the law. Compliance with the timeframes set out in the open records act is not optional, and failure to respond within the proper time frame can subject the public agency to penalties.

"Either the records must be made available within three business days, or, the public agency must provide an estimated timetable of when the records will be available."

"OCGA 50-18-70(f) The individual in control of such public record or records shall have a reasonable amount of time to determine whether or not the record or records requested are subject to access under this article and to permit inspection and copying. In no event shall this time exceed three business days. Where responsive records exist but are not available within three business days of the request, a written description of such records, together with a timetable for their inspection and copying, shall be provided within that period; provided, however, that records not subject to inspection under this article need not be made available for inspection and copying or described other than as required by subsection (h) of Code Section 50-18-72, and no records need be made available for inspection or copying if the public officer or agency in control of such records shall have obtained, within that period of three business days, an order based on an exception in this article of a superior court of this state staying or refusing the requested access to such records."

Hollie Manheimer, executive director, Georgia First Amendment Foundation

"Within three business days, the agency has to produce the documents. If they are physically unable to do so or are seeking costs, they would have to send a letter and the letter would have to contain a statement of when the documents are available, an itemized assessment of the cost for production and any exceptions stating the code subsection they are relying on for their exception. Within three business days, if they can't produce the documents, then they would have to send a letter explaining why. You either have to produce the documents or send a letter within three days saying why you can't produce the documents in the 3-day time frame."

Lauren Kane, spokeswoman, Georgia Attorney General's Office

"The law requires access to records within 3 days."

Barbara Jacoby, spokeswoman, Cherokee County School District

THE BACK AND FORTH

Click the PDFs on this page for:

• Today's letter from the Cherokee County School District
• Thursday night's letter from the Georgia Charter Educational Foundation
• Cherokee Charter Academy's May 27 response to the district's May 23 open records request.
• Georgia Public Schools and the Open Records Act: A Citizen's Guide to Accessing School Records