All Emails Related to Payroll Records Request Through December 27 2014

8/10/2019 All Emails Related to Payroll Records Request Through December 27 2014

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Jason, please provide a listing of all personnel or other contracted employees who are paid by/through HooverCity Schools who received any sort of supplemental pay throughout the 2012-2013 school year. Please includethe employee's name, which salary schedule from which they were paid, which supplement they will receivethis year, and the formula by which it will be computed.

If you choose not to comply with my request as an information request (as in you do not wish to compile the listor run a report), please consider this an Alabama Open Records request. The records I am requesting existwithin the electronic payroll records and are public records.

If it would be more efficient for me to view the records on a computer at the Central Office, please let me knowand I will make arrangements.

Thank you for your prompt response and continued cooperation.

TrishTrisha Powell Crain

NOTE: This email requesting public information will be published in its entirety in an effort to be fullytransparent with and accountable to the public. It will not be altered from its original format.

Subj: Public Information/Alabama Open Records Request EnclosedDate: 1/11/2014 12:31:56 A.M. Central Standard TimeFrom: [email protected]: [email protected]

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Tuesday, November 11, 2014 America Online

- Request or Recor s o Payro In o nc u ng supp ementa pay etc.


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Jason, pursuant to our conversation, I have pulled together my outstanding Public Records requests to HooverCity Schools.

07-18-2013 Records of financial relationships with the City of Hoover from FY10 through the date of the request. Acknowledged on 07-18-2013 with the recommendation to contact City Hall as well.

12-13-2013 List of HCS employees receiving compensation in excess of $75,000 per year You acknowledged the request on 01-03-2014 (I indicated I was on a deadline and would have considered a prompt response)

12-29-2013 All documents shared, reviewed, or given to the Hoover Board of Education during the June 23 "work session" at Perdido Key Beach Resort. Confirmation of who paid for Melody Greene's travel and lodging expenses to attend

No acknowledgement received

01-02-2014 Cathy Antee's and Carol Barber's personnel files, including any evaluationsNo acknowledgement received

01-04-2014 Original invoice for check #8086 to Skipper Consulting, Inc. Agreement with Skipper Consulting, Inc. for whatever services they are to perform


01-11-2014 Accurate count of the number of children attending Hoover City Schools who do not live in the city of Hoover but are attending HCS because their parent or guardian is an employee of HCS


01-11-2014 All personnel or other contracted employees paid by/through HCS who received anysupplement pay throughout the 2012-2013 school year and the pay amounts.

Additional information requested.No acknowledgement received

I would appreciate an update as to where each of these requests currently stand.

Thank you. As President of the Alabama School Public Relations Association, a chapter of the National SchoolPublic Relations Assocation, I trust that the Code of Ethics you follow allows for fair determination and responseto these records requests. (Here's the Code of Ethics: http://www.nspra.org/code-ethics )

Trisha Powell Crain


Subj: Outstanding Public Records Requests - Total of SevenDate: 1/24/2014 10:18:31 A.M. Central Standard TimeFrom: [email protected]: [email protected]

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Tuesday, November 11, 2014 America Online

- Request or up ate to mu t p e requests nc u ng Payro request


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NOTE: This email requesting public information will be published in its entirety in an effort tobe fully transparent with and accountable to the public. It will not be altered from its originalformat.

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Saturday, October 18, 2014 America Online

Request or payro recor s, page


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Jason, when I arrived at the Hoover Board of Education Central Office on Friday, March 14, 2014, at 1:30 p.m.to view a public records request to view Cathy Antee's and Carol Barber's personnel files, you produced fouremails I had sent that were marked "fulfilled 14-March-14" in the upper right-hand corner of each of the fouremails. No signature, no names of any of Hoover City Schools' officials are included on the emails. I asked youverbally whose writing that was and you stated that it was yours.

These emails were dated(1) February 20, 2014(2) January 27, 2014(3) January 11, 2014(4) January 2, 2014

Additionally, you stated that you would send official notice that each of those records requests were fulfilled. Ihave not yet received those notices.

This serves as official notice to you, as Public Information Officer and custodian of records for the Hoover City

School system and the Hoover City Board of Education, that requests numbered (1), (2), and (3) have beenfulfilled.

Please respond, in a timely manner, to each request individually with response as to why the requests were notfulfilled.

Thank you.

Trisha Powell Crain


Subj: Public Records Requests - Not Fulfilled - Official NoticeDate: 3/19/2014 8:50:28 P.M. Central Daylight TimeFrom: [email protected]: [email protected]

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031914 - Rejection of Gaston claim that docs provided filled request, page 1


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031914 - Rejection of Gaston claim that docs provided filled request, page 2


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- Re ect on o Gaston c a m t at ocs prov e e request, page


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FOIA 01272014

Fulfilled March 14, 2014 via in -person review at 2810 Metropolitan Way.Existing document(s) provided: Statement of Economic Interest Listing of Filers

From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]Sent: Monday, January 27, 2014 1:25 PMTo: Gaston, JasonSubject: Modification of Public Information/Alabama Open Records Request Enclosed

Jason, after researching the environment in which payroll records exist, I respectfully request to modify thisJanuary 11 request (below) to simplify the information gathering necessary within the finance department.

Here is the modified request:

Pursuant to the Alabama Open Records Act, I request a listing of all payroll records of all earnings for allpersons paid through Hoover City Schools for the 2012 and 2013 calendar years .

Parameters of this request include the name of the employee , the name of the school (cost center isacceptable as long as cost centers are differentiated if the employee is split between multiple schools ortransferred at some point during 2012 and/or 2013), employee identification number or other unique identifier (in the event there are two employees with similar names), salary and itemization of any and all stipends orsupplements paid through Hoover City Schools' payroll. In addition, please indicate any amounts paid forovertime earned by each employee.

It is my understanding that the information I am requesting is similar to the information provided on employees' W-2 tax forms.

Because these records are maintained electronically, I appreciate your consideration in providing these recordselectronically. If you choose to provide them in some other format, please state your reason for choosing theformat through which you provide this information.

Because the information contained in this request will contain the information in my 12-13-2013 request (askingfor names of employees earning more than $75,000 per year), completion of this modified request will satisfy the12-13-2013 request as well.

Thank you for your consideration and cooperation.

Trisha Powell Crain

NOTE: This email requesting public information will be published in its entirety in an effort to be fully

transparent with and accountable to the public. It will not be altered from its original format.

From: [email protected]: [email protected]: 1/11/2014 12:31:56 A.M. Central Standard TimeSubj: Public Information/Alabama Open Records Request Enclosed

Jason, please provide a listing of all personnel or other contracted employees who are paidby/through Hoover City Schools who received any sort of supplemental pay throughout the 2012-2013school year. Please include the employee's name, which salary schedule from which they were paid,

Subj: RE: Modification of Public Information/Alabama Open Records Request EnclosedDate: 3/25/2014 11:47:31 A.M. Central Daylight TimeFrom: [email protected]: [email protected]

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Monday, July 14, 2014 America Online

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which supplement they will receive this year, and the formula by which it will be computed.

If you choose not to comply with my request as an information request (as in you do not wish to compilethe list or run a report), please consider this an Alabama Open Records request. The records I amrequesting exist within the electronic payroll records and are public records.

If it would be more efficient for me to view the records on a computer at the Central Office, please let meknow and I will make arrangements.

Thank you for your prompt response and continued cooperation.


NOTE: This email requesting public information will be published in its entirety in an effort to befully transparent with and accountable to the public. It will not be altered from its original format.

Page 2 of 2

Monday, July 14, 2014 America Online

032514 - Response to 012714 request for payroll records, page 2


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Jason, I am unclear as to how you believed that providing a listing of Hoover City Schools personnel required tofile Statements of Economic Interests (SOEI) fulfilled the following request for all payroll records of all

earnings for all persons paid through Hoover City Schools for the 2012 and 2013 calendar years.

From the January 27, 2014, request:-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pursuant to the Alabama Open Records Act, I request a listing of all payroll records of all earnings for allpersons paid through Hoover City Schools for the 2012 and 2013 calendar years .

Parameters of this request include the name of the employee , the name of the school (cost center isacceptable as long as cost centers are differentiated if the employee is split between multiple schools ortransferred at some point during 2012 and/or 2013), employee identification number or other uniqueidentifier (in the event there are two employees with similar names), salary and itemization of any and allstipends or supplements paid through Hoover City Schools' payroll. In addition, please indicate any amountspaid for overtime earned by each employee.

It is my understanding that the information I am requesting is similar to the information provided on employees'W-2 tax forms.

Because these records are maintained electronically, I appreciate your consideration in providing these recordselectronically. If you choose to provide them in some other format, please state your reason for choosing theformat through which you provide this information.

Because the information contained in this request will contain the information in my 12-13-2013 request (askingfor names of employees earning more than $75,000 per year), completion of this modified request will satisfythe 12-13-2013 request as well.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Had you stated that the listing of SOEI filers for Hoover City Schools that you provided to me on March 14,2014, fulfilled the December 13, 2013, request , I would have agreed.

I appreciate your prompt attention to this matter as well as prompt fulfillment of this request.

This request is now nearly 14 weeks old.

Trisha Powell Crain

NOTE: This email requesting public information may be published in its entirety in an effort to be fullytransparent with and accountable to the public. It will not be altered from its original format.

In a message dated 3/25/2014 11:47:31 A.M. Central Daylight Time, [email protected] writes:

Pursuant to the Alabama Open Records Act, I request a listing of all payroll records of allearnings for all persons paid through Hoover City Schools for the 2012 and 2013 calendaryears .

Parameters of this request include the name of the employee , the name of the school (cost center isacceptable as long as cost centers are differentiated if the employee is split between multiple schoolsor transferred at some point during 2012 and/or 2013), employee identification number or other

Subj: FOIA 01272014 - unfilledDate: 5/3/2014 2:00:00 P.M. Central Daylight TimeFrom: [email protected]: [email protected]

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050314 - Rejection of 032514 Gaston claim that request filled, page 1


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unique identifier (in the event there are two employees with similar names), salary and itemizationof any and all stipends or supplements paid through Hoover City Schools' payroll. In addition,please indicate any amounts paid for overtime earned by each employee.

It is my understanding that the information I am requesting is similar to the information provided on

employees' W-2 tax forms.

Because these records are maintained electronically, I appreciate your consideration in providing theserecords electronically. If you choose to provide them in some other format, please state your reason forchoosing the format through which you provide this information.

Because the information contained in this request will contain the information in my 12-13-2013request (asking for names of employees earning more than $75,000 per year), completion of thismodified request will satisfy the 12-13-2013 request as well.

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050314 - Rejection of 032514 Gaston claim that request filled, page 2


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our publicly-paid Hoover City Schools employees. Feel free to call if you have any questions. Thanks. Trisha Powell CrainExecutive Director

Alabama School [email protected]

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072114 - Correspondence exchange with Gaston re payroll records as public records, page 2
mailto:[email protected]://www.avg.com/http://www.avg.com/mailto:[email protected]


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From: Gaston, JasonTo: ASC emailSubject: RE: New database details pay of California public school employees - LA TimesDate: Sunday, July 27, 2014 8:51:29 PM

Thanks...

Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone

-------- Original message --------From: ASC emailDate:07/26/2014 11:39 PM (GMT-06:00)To: "Gaston, Jason"Subject: New database details pay of California public school employees - LA Times

www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-database-public-school-20140723-story.html

Thought you might be interested in this.Trish

Download the official Twitter app here

Trisha Powell CrainExecutive Director

Alabama School Connection

No virus found in this message.Checked by AVG - www.avg.com

Version: 2015.0.5315 / Virus Database: 4181/8412 - Release Date: 10/18/14

072714 - Correspondence with Gaston re California database
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-database-public-school-20140723-story.htmlhttps://twitter.com/download?ref_src=MailTweet-iOShttp://www.avg.com/http://www.avg.com/https://twitter.com/download?ref_src=MailTweet-iOShttp://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-database-public-school-20140723-story.htmlmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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RECORDS - Requests for Open RecordsDate original request Description Follow up 1 Follow up 2 Today Running Clock

December 29, 2013Documents from June 2013Work Session

January 24, 2014 July 13, 2014Answered, not

complete

January 11, 2014Accurate count and descriptionof where employees' childrenattend Hoover City Schools

May 3, 2014 July 13, 2014 September 8, 2014 240

January 11, 2014

Payroll records for all earnings

for 2012 and 2013 calendaryears

Modified request onJanuary 27, 2014 July 13, 2014 September 8, 2014 183/167

January 27, 2014Payroll records for all earningsfor 2012 and 2013 calendaryears


February 8, 2014Transportation bidcommunications


April 18, 2014

Communications anddocuments shared with DOJ inresponse to their request forinformation

July 13, 2014 September 8, 2014 143

April 18, 2014Information provided to DOJ rethe cost of bus operations

July 13, 2014 September 8, 2014 143

April 18, 2014Calculations and documentsused to set aside extracurricularcosts of transportation

July 13, 2014 September 8, 2014 143

June 30, 2014Test Irregularity Reports from2010 to 2013

July 13, 2014 August 11, 2014 September 8, 2014 70

September 4, 2014

Instructions sent by the DistrictTest Coordinator to any and allHCS regarding the ARMT+ 2012administration

September 8, 2014 4

090814 - List of Outstanding ORAs shared with Hoover BOE at September 8, 2014, meeting, page 1


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QUESTIONS - Requests for ResponseDate original request Description Follow up 1 Follow up 2 Today Running Clock

May 3, 2014Confirmation that CSFO CathyAntee has had no personnelevaluations since May 7, 2008

July 13, 2014 September 8, 2014 128

May 3, 2014

What was the final disposition

of the Allen et al. v Hoover BOEcase?

July 12, 2014 September 8, 2014 128

May 22, 2014Why are our athletic coachesnot filing SOEIs?

July 13, 2014 September 8, 2014 109

090814 - List of Outstanding ORAs shared with Hoover BOE at September 8, 2014, meeting, page 2


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From: Trisha Powell CrainTo: Gaston, Jason ( [email protected])Cc: [email protected] ; Jim PewittSubject: Outstanding Open Records requests from January 11 and January 27Date: Saturday, October 18, 2014 5:36:18 PM Attachments: 1 - TPCrain ORA Request 012714 - Hoover City Schools - Payroll Records.pdf

2 - TPCrain ORA Request 031914 followup 1 - Hoover City Schools - Payroll Records.pdf 3 - JGaston Response 032514 claiming 012714 was fulfilled.pdf 4 - TPCrain ORA Request 050314 followup 2 - Hoover City Schools - Payroll Records.pdf 5 - TPCrain ORA Request 071314 followup 3 - Hoover City Schools - Payroll Records.pdf 6 - TPCrain Email 072114 to JG re Payroll Records Are Public.pdf 7 - TPCrain Email 072614 to JG re California Database Creation.pdf 8 - OutstandingHooverOpenRecordsRequests-090814.pdf

Mr. Gaston, I request immediate production of the documents requested in an Alabama OpenRecords request I originally placed on January 11 and modified on January 27, 2014. In thatelectronic mail (email), I requested the following information (emphasis was included in theJanuary 27, 2014, email):

Pursuant to the Alabama Open Records Act, I request a listing of all payroll records of all

earnings for all persons paid through Hoover City Schools for the 2012 and 2013 calendaryears . Parameters of this request include the name of the employee , the name of the school (costcenter is acceptable as long as cost centers are differentiated if the employee is splitbetween multiple schools or transferred at some point during 2012 and/or 2013), employeeidentification number or other unique identifier (in the event there are two employeeswith similar names), salary and itemization of any and all stipends or supplements paidthrough Hoover City Schools' payroll. In addition, please indicate any amounts paid forovertime earned by each employee.

It is my understanding that the information I am requesting is similar to the informationprovided on employees' W-2 tax forms. Because these records are maintained electronically, I appreciate your consideration inproviding these records electronically. If you choose to provide them in some other format,please state your reason for choosing the format through which you provide thisinformation.

264 days have passed since I submitted the modified request on January 27, 2014. I have attached PDFs of information related to this request, including emails that you and I haveexchanged about this request, in chronological order.

The January 27, 2014, request is Attachment 1. On March 14, 2014, you provided a copy of my January 27, 2014, email with the words Fulfilled,March-14-2014 handwritten in the upper right-hand corner while I was at the Hoover Board of Education building to review the personnel files of two employees pursuant to a separate request.

101814 - Request for immediate production of 012714 payroll records request, page 1
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(Attachment 2, pp. 2-3) On March 19, 2014, I notified you that the provision of Statements of Economic Interests on March14, 2014, did not satisfy the parameters of the January 27, 2014, request. (Attachment 2) Please note that, upon further review, I recognize that in the next-to-last paragraph of the March

19, 2014, email, I mistakenly worded the last part of the sentence by leaving out the word not.However, the subject line of the email clearly indicates not fulfilled. My apologies for anyconfusion that leaving that word out may have caused, though I feel certain I have made very clearthat the January 27, 2014, request for payroll records has not been satisfied in all furthercommunications. On March 25, 2014, you claimed to have fulfilled the January 27, 2014, on March 14, 2014, byproviding a listing of employees required to file Statement of Economic Interests (SOEIs).(Attachment 3)

On May 3, 2014, I requested an explanation of how SOEIs satisfied my request for payroll records inan email with the Subject title of FOIA 01272014 unfilled . You have never responded to thatrequest. (Attachment 4) On July 13, 2014, I reminded you of my outstanding records and information requests via email. Youhave never responded to that request. (Attachment 5) In addition to the written conversations, you and I have spoken verbally about this request onmultiple occasions. On July 21, 2014, after a verbal conversation you and I had regarding payroll records being publicrecords, I followed through on a verbal promise I made to send you various resources outlining thatpayroll records are indeed public records, including references to Alabama law. You replied Thankyou for the links. (Attachment 6)

On July 26, 2014, I forwarded to you via email a news item regarding Californias statewide databaseof public education employees payroll information to which you replied, Thanks on July 27, 2014.(Attachment 7) On September 8, 2014, I presented a printout of outstanding Open Records Requests to BoardPresident Donna Frazier and Board Vice President Derrick Murphy during the Public Participationportion of the Board of Education meeting. No one contacted me about those outstanding requests.(Attachment 8) On October 6, 2014, I spoke of this outstanding request for payroll records during the publicparticipation portion of the Board of Education meeting, making it clear that I had not yet received aresponse to the Open Records Request for payroll records. The meeting was recorded on digitalaudio. No one has responded to me about this request.

- Request or mme ate pro uct on o payro recor s request, page


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I have copied Mr. Sweeney on this request to ask for his help in providing advice to you regardingthe Open Records law in Alabama. While Mr. Sweeney has made it clear in the past that he fullyrecognizes that current Alabama Open Records law does not provide a time limit for response forrequests for open records, he also has acknowledged that the amount of time for response shouldbe reasonable.

You may recall that in 2008, only four months had passed while waiting for a records request to befilled when I filed a lawsuit to pursue a remedy to the Hoover Board of Educations inaction on arequest for emails between board members and Superintendent Andy Craig. You may also recallthat I agreed to settle the lawsuit out of court, and the Hoover Board of Education agreed to pay theexpenses of the attorney I retained in that case.

I have been overly patient with this particular request. Given Mr. Coopers line of questioning directed at me during the public participation portion of theOctober 6, 2014, board meeting, one could infer that my open records and information requests are

being treated differently . Further, Superintendent Andy Craigs direct response to me when Irequested how the information he had agreed to provide four months earlier would be providedallows further insight as to how my requests are being handled. I seek immediate fulfillment of my January 27, 2014, request. If this request is not fulfilled in itsentirety before November 3, 2014, I fully intend to request the courts assistance in resolving thismatter. I do hope that this can be resolved without the courts involvement, as involving the court alwaysproves to be a costly alternative. Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter. Trisha Powell CrainExecutive DirectorAlabama School [email protected] NOTE: This email requesting public information will be published in its entirety in an effort to befully transparent with and accountable to the public. The content of the email will not be alteredfrom its original format.

101814 - Request for immediate production of 012714 payroll records request, page 3
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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From: Gaston, JasonTo: Trisha Powell CrainCc: Craig, Andy ; "Sweeney, Donald B. ([email protected])"Subject: RE: Outstanding Open Records requests from January 11 and January 27Date: Monday, October 20, 2014 5:36:41 PM

Expect some response by this Friday, October 24

From: Trisha Powell Crain [mailto:[email protected]]Sent: Saturday, October 18, 2014 5:36 PMTo: Gaston, JasonCc: [email protected]; Jim PewittSubject: Outstanding Open Records requests from January 11 and January 27 Mr. Gaston, I request immediate production of the documents requested in an Alabama OpenRecords request I originally placed on January 11 and modified on January 27, 2014. In thatelectronic mail (email), I requested the following information (emphasis was included in theJanuary 27, 2014, email):

Pursuant to the Alabama Open Records Act, I request a listing of all payroll records of allearnings for all persons paid through Hoover City Schools for the 2012 and 2013 calendaryears . Parameters of this request include the name of the employee , the name of the school (costcenter is acceptable as long as cost centers are differentiated if the employee is splitbetween multiple schools or transferred at some point during 2012 and/or 2013), employeeidentification number or other unique identifier (in the event there are two employeeswith similar names), salary and itemization of any and all stipends or supplements paid

through Hoover City Schools' payroll. In addition, please indicate any amounts paid forovertime earned by each employee. It is my understanding that the information I am requesting is similar to the informationprovided on employees' W-2 tax forms. Because these records are maintained electronically, I appreciate your consideration inproviding these records electronically. If you choose to provide them in some other format,please state your reason for choosing the format through which you provide thisinformation.


The January 27, 2014, request is Attachment 1. On March 14, 2014, you provided a copy of my January 27, 2014, email with the words Fulfilled,

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March-14-2014 handwritten in the upper right-hand corner while I was at the Hoover Board of Education building to review the personnel files of two employees pursuant to a separate request.(Attachment 2, pp. 2-3) On March 19, 2014, I notified you that the provision of Statements of Economic Interests on March14, 2014, did not satisfy the parameters of the January 27, 2014, request. (Attachment 2)

Please note that, upon further review, I recognize that in the next-to-last paragraph of the March19, 2014, email, I mistakenly worded the last part of the sentence by leaving out the word not.However, the subject line of the email clearly indicates not fulfilled. My apologies for anyconfusion that leaving that word out may have caused, though I feel certain I have made very clearthat the January 27, 2014, request for payroll records has not been satisfied in all furthercommunications. On March 25, 2014, you claimed to have fulfilled the January 27, 2014, on March 14, 2014, byproviding a listing of employees required to file Statement of Economic Interests (SOEIs).

(Attachment 3) On May 3, 2014, I requested an explanation of how SOEIs satisfied my request for payroll records inan email with the Subject title of FOIA 01272014 unfilled . You have never responded to thatrequest. (Attachment 4) On July 13, 2014, I reminded you of my outstanding records and information requests via email. Youhave never responded to that request. (Attachment 5) In addition to the written conversations, you and I have spoken verbally about this request onmultiple occasions. On July 21, 2014, after a verbal conversation you and I had regarding payroll records being publicrecords, I followed through on a verbal promise I made to send you various resources outlining thatpayroll records are indeed public records, including references to Alabama law. You replied Thankyou for the links. (Attachment 6)

On July 26, 2014, I forwarded to you via email a news item regarding Californias statewide databaseof public education employees payroll information to which you replied, Thanks on July 27, 2014.(Attachment 7) On September 8, 2014, I presented a printout of outstanding Open Records Requests to BoardPresident Donna Frazier and Board Vice President Derrick Murphy during the Public Participationportion of the Board of Education meeting. No one contacted me about those outstanding requests.(Attachment 8) On October 6, 2014, I spoke of this outstanding request for payroll records during the publicparticipation portion of the Board of Education meeting, making it clear that I had not yet received aresponse to the Open Records Request for payroll records. The meeting was recorded on digital

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audio. No one has responded to me about this request. I have copied Mr. Sweeney on this request to ask for his help in providing advice to you regardingthe Open Records law in Alabama. While Mr. Sweeney has made it clear in the past that he fullyrecognizes that current Alabama Open Records law does not provide a time limit for response forrequests for open records, he also has acknowledged that the amount of time for response should

be reasonable. You may recall that in 2008, only four months had passed while waiting for a records request to befilled when I filed a lawsuit to pursue a remedy to the Hoover Board of Educations inaction on arequest for emails between board members and Superintendent Andy Craig. You may also recallthat I agreed to settle the lawsuit out of court, and the Hoover Board of Education agreed to pay theexpenses of the attorney I retained in that case.

I have been overly patient with this particular request.

Given Mr. Coopers line of questioning directed at me during the public participation portion of theOctober 6, 2014, board meeting, one could infer that my open records and information requests arebeing treated differently . Further, Superintendent Andy Craigs direct response to me when Irequested how the information he had agreed to provide four months earlier would be providedallows further insight as to how my requests are being handled. I seek immediate fulfillment of my January 27, 2014, request. If this request is not fulfilled in itsentirety before November 3, 2014, I fully intend to request the courts assistance in resolving thismatter. I do hope that this can be resolved without the courts involvement, as involving the court alwaysproves to be a costly alternative. Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter. Trisha Powell CrainExecutive DirectorAlabama School [email protected] NOTE: This email requesting public information will be published in its entirety in an effort to befully transparent with and accountable to the public. The content of the email will not be alteredfrom its original format.



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From: Gaston, JasonTo: Trisha Powell Crain ; "[email protected]" ; Gaston, Jason ; "Sweeney, Donald B. ([email protected])"Subject: RE: Outstanding Open Records requests from January 11 and January 27Date: Friday, October 24, 2014 4:03:00 PM

Some of these requests can be sent electronically and other fulfillments will have to be available foran in-person review.

As for in-person reviews, I have times next Wednesday afternoon and most anytime Thursday orFriday.

Please advise some dates/times which work for you. Thank you

Jason

From: Trisha Powell Crain [mailto:[email protected]]Sent: Saturday, October 18, 2014 5:36 PMTo: Gaston, JasonCc: [email protected]; Jim PewittSubject: Outstanding Open Records requests from January 11 and January 27 Mr. Gaston, I request immediate production of the documents requested in an Alabama OpenRecords request I originally placed on January 11 and modified on January 27, 2014. In thatelectronic mail (email), I requested the following information (emphasis was included in theJanuary 27, 2014, email):

Pursuant to the Alabama Open Records Act, I request a listing of all payroll records of allearnings for all persons paid through Hoover City Schools for the 2012 and 2013 calendaryears . Parameters of this request include the name of the employee , the name of the school (costcenter is acceptable as long as cost centers are differentiated if the employee is splitbetween multiple schools or transferred at some point during 2012 and/or 2013), employeeidentification number or other unique identifier (in the event there are two employeeswith similar names), salary and itemization of any and all stipends or supplements paidthrough Hoover City Schools' payroll. In addition, please indicate any amounts paid for

overtime earned by each employee. It is my understanding that the information I am requesting is similar to the informationprovided on employees' W-2 tax forms. Because these records are maintained electronically, I appreciate your consideration inproviding these records electronically. If you choose to provide them in some other format,please state your reason for choosing the format through which you provide thisinformation.

- Response rom Gaston as ng or t me to meet to rev ew recor s requeste , page
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The January 27, 2014, request is Attachment 1. On March 14, 2014, you provided a copy of my January 27, 2014, email with the words Fulfilled,March-14-2014 handwritten in the upper right-hand corner while I was at the Hoover Board of Education building to review the personnel files of two employees pursuant to a separate request.(Attachment 2, pp. 2-3) On March 19, 2014, I notified you that the provision of Statements of Economic Interests on March14, 2014, did not satisfy the parameters of the January 27, 2014, request. (Attachment 2)

Please note that, upon further review, I recognize that in the next-to-last paragraph of the March19, 2014, email, I mistakenly worded the last part of the sentence by leaving out the word not.However, the subject line of the email clearly indicates not fulfilled. My apologies for anyconfusion that leaving that word out may have caused, though I feel certain I have made very clearthat the January 27, 2014, request for payroll records has not been satisfied in all furthercommunications. On March 25, 2014, you claimed to have fulfilled the January 27, 2014, on March 14, 2014, byproviding a listing of employees required to file Statement of Economic Interests (SOEIs).(Attachment 3) On May 3, 2014, I requested an explanation of how SOEIs satisfied my request for payroll records inan email with the Subject title of FOIA 01272014 unfilled . You have never responded to thatrequest. (Attachment 4) On July 13, 2014, I reminded you of my outstanding records and information requests via email. Youhave never responded to that request. (Attachment 5) In addition to the written conversations, you and I have spoken verbally about this request onmultiple occasions. On July 21, 2014, after a verbal conversation you and I had regarding payroll records being publicrecords, I followed through on a verbal promise I made to send you various resources outlining thatpayroll records are indeed public records, including references to Alabama law. You replied Thankyou for the links. (Attachment 6)

On July 26, 2014, I forwarded to you via email a news item regarding Californias statewide databaseof public education employees payroll information to which you replied, Thanks on July 27, 2014.(Attachment 7)

102414 - Response from Gaston asking for time to meet to review records requested, page 2


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On September 8, 2014, I presented a printout of outstanding Open Records Requests to BoardPresident Donna Frazier and Board Vice President Derrick Murphy during the Public Participationportion of the Board of Education meeting. No one contacted me about those outstanding requests.(Attachment 8)

On October 6, 2014, I spoke of this outstanding request for payroll records during the publicparticipation portion of the Board of Education meeting, making it clear that I had not yet received aresponse to the Open Records Request for payroll records. The meeting was recorded on digitalaudio. No one has responded to me about this request. I have copied Mr. Sweeney on this request to ask for his help in providing advice to you regardingthe Open Records law in Alabama. While Mr. Sweeney has made it clear in the past that he fullyrecognizes that current Alabama Open Records law does not provide a time limit for response forrequests for open records, he also has acknowledged that the amount of time for response shouldbe reasonable.

You may recall that in 2008, only four months had passed while waiting for a records request to befilled when I filed a lawsuit to pursue a remedy to the Hoover Board of Educations inaction on arequest for emails between board members and Superintendent Andy Craig. You may also recallthat I agreed to settle the lawsuit out of court, and the Hoover Board of Education agreed to pay theexpenses of the attorney I retained in that case.

I have been overly patient with this particular request. Given Mr. Coopers line of questioning directed at me during the public participation portion of theOctober 6, 2014, board meeting, one could infer that my open records and information requests arebeing treated differently . Further, Superintendent Andy Craigs direct response to me when Irequested how the information he had agreed to provide four months earlier would be providedallows further insight as to how my requests are being handled. I seek immediate fulfillment of my January 27, 2014, request. If this request is not fulfilled in itsentirety before November 3, 2014, I fully intend to request the courts assistance in resolving thismatter. I do hope that this can be resolved without the courts involvement, as involving the court alwaysproves to be a costly alternative. Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter. Trisha Powell CrainExecutive DirectorAlabama School [email protected]



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NOTE: This email requesting public information will be published in its entirety in an effort to befully transparent with and accountable to the public. The content of the email will not be alteredfrom its original format.



http://www.avg.com/http://www.avg.com/


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From: Trisha Powell CrainTo: "Gaston, Jason"Cc: Jim Pewitt ; [email protected]: RE: Outstanding Open Records requests from January 11 and January 27Date: Monday, October 27, 2014 7:25:51 PM

Thank you for your response. However, the vagueness of your response leaves me unable to

decipher which records you intend to provide in-person and which you intend to provideelectronically. With respect to the requests that require an in-person review, any time after 12 noon onWednesday, October 29 works best for me. Thursday after 1:00 p.m. works also, though I wouldprefer Wednesday in order to best determine whether the records you are providing actually satisfythe request I have made. With respect to the requests that can be sent electronically, when might I expect thosedocuments to be provided?

Thank you. Trisha Powell CrainExecutive DirectorAlabama School [email protected]

From: Gaston, Jason [mailto:[email protected]]Sent: Friday, October 24, 2014 4:03 PMTo: Trisha Powell Crain; '[email protected]'; Gaston, Jason; 'Sweeney, Donald B.([email protected])'Subject: RE: Outstanding Open Records requests from January 11 and January 27 Some of these requests can be sent electronically and other fulfillments will have to be available foran in-person review.



Jason

From: Trisha Powell Crain [ mailto:[email protected] ]Sent: Saturday, October 18, 2014 5:36 PMTo: Gaston, JasonCc: [email protected] ; Jim PewittSubject: Outstanding Open Records requests from January 11 and January 27

- Request to set t me or rev ew o recor s requeste , page
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Mr. Gaston, I request immediate production of the documents requested in an Alabama OpenRecords request I originally placed on January 11 and modified on January 27, 2014. In thatelectronic mail (email), I requested the following information (emphasis was included in theJanuary 27, 2014, email):


overtime earned by each employee. It is my understanding that the information I am requesting is similar to the informationprovided on employees' W-2 tax forms. Because these records are maintained electronically, I appreciate your consideration inproviding these records electronically. If you choose to provide them in some other format,please state your reason for choosing the format through which you provide thisinformation.


The January 27, 2014, request is Attachment 1. On March 14, 2014, you provided a copy of my January 27, 2014, email with the words Fulfilled,March-14-2014 handwritten in the upper right-hand corner while I was at the Hoover Board of Education building to review the personnel files of two employees pursuant to a separate request.(Attachment 2, pp. 2-3) On March 19, 2014, I notified you that the provision of Statements of Economic Interests on March14, 2014, did not satisfy the parameters of the January 27, 2014, request. (Attachment 2) Please note that, upon further review, I recognize that in the next-to-last paragraph of the March19, 2014, email, I mistakenly worded the last part of the sentence by leaving out the word not.However, the subject line of the email clearly indicates not fulfilled. My apologies for anyconfusion that leaving that word out may have caused, though I feel certain I have made very clear

102714 - Request to set time for review of records requested, page 2


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that the January 27, 2014, request for payroll records has not been satisfied in all furthercommunications. On March 25, 2014, you claimed to have fulfilled the January 27, 2014, on March 14, 2014, byproviding a listing of employees required to file Statement of Economic Interests (SOEIs).(Attachment 3)

On May 3, 2014, I requested an explanation of how SOEIs satisfied my request for payroll records inan email with the Subject title of FOIA 01272014 unfilled . You have never responded to thatrequest. (Attachment 4) On July 13, 2014, I reminded you of my outstanding records and information requests via email. Youhave never responded to that request. (Attachment 5) In addition to the written conversations, you and I have spoken verbally about this request onmultiple occasions.

On July 21, 2014, after a verbal conversation you and I had regarding payroll records being publicrecords, I followed through on a verbal promise I made to send you various resources outlining thatpayroll records are indeed public records, including references to Alabama law. You replied Thankyou for the links. (Attachment 6)

On July 26, 2014, I forwarded to you via email a news item regarding Californias statewide databaseof public education employees payroll information to which you replied, Thanks on July 27, 2014.(Attachment 7) On September 8, 2014, I presented a printout of outstanding Open Records Requests to BoardPresident Donna Frazier and Board Vice President Derrick Murphy during the Public Participationportion of the Board of Education meeting. No one contacted me about those outstanding requests.(Attachment 8) On October 6, 2014, I spoke of this outstanding request for payroll records during the publicparticipation portion of the Board of Education meeting, making it clear that I had not yet received aresponse to the Open Records Request for payroll records. The meeting was recorded on digitalaudio. No one has responded to me about this request. I have copied Mr. Sweeney on this request to ask for his help in providing advice to you regardingthe Open Records law in Alabama. While Mr. Sweeney has made it clear in the past that he fullyrecognizes that current Alabama Open Records law does not provide a time limit for response forrequests for open records, he also has acknowledged that the amount of time for response shouldbe reasonable. You may recall that in 2008, only four months had passed while waiting for a records request to befilled when I filed a lawsuit to pursue a remedy to the Hoover Board of Educations inaction on arequest for emails between board members and Superintendent Andy Craig. You may also recall



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that I agreed to settle the lawsuit out of court, and the Hoover Board of Education agreed to pay theexpenses of the attorney I retained in that case.

I have been overly patient with this particular request. Given Mr. Coopers line of questioning directed at me during the public participation portion of the

October 6, 2014, board meeting, one could infer that my open records and information requests arebeing treated differently . Further, Superintendent Andy Craigs direct response to me when Irequested how the information he had agreed to provide four months earlier would be providedallows further insight as to how my requests are being handled. I seek immediate fulfillment of my January 27, 2014, request. If this request is not fulfilled in itsentirety before November 3, 2014, I fully intend to request the courts assistance in resolving thismatter. I do hope that this can be resolved without the courts involvement, as involving the court always

proves to be a costly alternative. Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter. Trisha Powell CrainExecutive DirectorAlabama School [email protected] NOTE: This email requesting public information will be published in its entirety in an effort to befully transparent with and accountable to the public. The content of the email will not be alteredfrom its original format.




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Thank you. Trisha Powell CrainExecutive DirectorAlabama School Connection

[email protected]

From: Gaston, Jason [ mailto:[email protected] ]Sent: Friday, October 24, 2014 4:03 PMTo: Trisha Powell Crain; '[email protected]'; Gaston, Jason; 'Sweeney, Donald B.([email protected] )'Subject: RE: Outstanding Open Records requests from January 11 and January 27 Some of these requests can be sent electronically and other fulfillments will have to be available foran in-person review.



Jason

From: Trisha Powell Crain [ mailto:[email protected] ]Sent: Saturday, October 18, 2014 5:36 PMTo: Gaston, JasonCc: [email protected] ; Jim PewittSubject: Outstanding Open Records requests from January 11 and January 27 Mr. Gaston, I request immediate production of the documents requested in an Alabama OpenRecords request I originally placed on January 11 and modified on January 27, 2014. In thatelectronic mail (email), I requested the following information (emphasis was included in theJanuary 27, 2014, email):


- Request or mme ate pro uct on ue to ac o response, page
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overtime earned by each employee. It is my understanding that the information I am requesting is similar to the informationprovided on employees' W-2 tax forms. Because these records are maintained electronically, I appreciate your consideration in

providing these records electronically. If you choose to provide them in some other format,please state your reason for choosing the format through which you provide thisinformation.


The January 27, 2014, request is Attachment 1.

On March 14, 2014, you provided a copy of my January 27, 2014, email with the words Fulfilled,March-14-2014 handwritten in the upper right-hand corner while I was at the Hoover Board of Education building to review the personnel files of two employees pursuant to a separate request.(Attachment 2, pp. 2-3) On March 19, 2014, I notified you that the provision of Statements of Economic Interests on March14, 2014, did not satisfy the parameters of the January 27, 2014, request. (Attachment 2) Please note that, upon further review, I recognize that in the next-to-last paragraph of the March19, 2014, email, I mistakenly worded the last part of the sentence by leaving out the word not.However, the subject line of the email clearly indicates not fulfilled. My apologies for anyconfusion that leaving that word out may have caused, though I feel certain I have made very clearthat the January 27, 2014, request for payroll records has not been satisfied in all furthercommunications. On March 25, 2014, you claimed to have fulfilled the January 27, 2014, on March 14, 2014, byproviding a listing of employees required to file Statement of Economic Interests (SOEIs).(Attachment 3) On May 3, 2014, I requested an explanation of how SOEIs satisfied my request for payroll records inan email with the Subject title of FOIA 01272014 unfilled . You have never responded to thatrequest. (Attachment 4) On July 13, 2014, I reminded you of my outstanding records and information requests via email. Youhave never responded to that request. (Attachment 5) In addition to the written conversations, you and I have spoken verbally about this request onmultiple occasions.

102914 1201 - Request for immediate production due to lack of response, page 3


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On July 26, 2014, I forwarded to you via email a news item regarding Californias statewide databaseof public education employees payroll information to which you replied, Thanks on July 27, 2014.(Attachment 7) On September 8, 2014, I presented a printout of outstanding Open Records Requests to BoardPresident Donna Frazier and Board Vice President Derrick Murphy during the Public Participationportion of the Board of Education meeting. No one contacted me about those outstanding requests.(Attachment 8) On October 6, 2014, I spoke of this outstanding request for payroll records during the public

participation portion of the Board of Education meeting, making it clear that I had not yet received aresponse to the Open Records Request for payroll records. The meeting was recorded on digitalaudio. No one has responded to me about this request. I have copied Mr. Sweeney on this request to ask for his help in providing advice to you regardingthe Open Records law in Alabama. While Mr. Sweeney has made it clear in the past that he fullyrecognizes that current Alabama Open Records law does not provide a time limit for response forrequests for open records, he also has acknowledged that the amount of time for response shouldbe reasonable. You may recall that in 2008, only four months had passed while waiting for a records request to befilled when I filed a lawsuit to pursue a remedy to the Hoover Board of Educations inaction on arequest for emails between board members and Superintendent Andy Craig. You may also recallthat I agreed to settle the lawsuit out of court, and the Hoover Board of Education agreed to pay theexpenses of the attorney I retained in that case.

I have been overly patient with this particular request. Given Mr. Coopers line of questioning directed at me during the public participation portion of theOctober 6, 2014, board meeting, one could infer that my open records and information requests arebeing treated differently . Further, Superintendent Andy Craigs direct response to me when Irequested how the information he had agreed to provide four months earlier would be providedallows further insight as to how my requests are being handled. I seek immediate fulfillment of my January 27, 2014, request. If this request is not fulfilled in itsentirety before November 3, 2014, I fully intend to request the courts assistance in resolving thismatter. I do hope that this can be resolved without the courts involvement, as involving the court always

- Request or mme ate pro uct on ue to ac o response, page


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From: Gaston, JasonTo: "[email protected]" ; ASC email ([email protected])Subject: Document requestsDate: Wednesday, October 29, 2014 4:12:49 PM

I have gathered some materials and will begin scanning them to you tomorrow, along with youroriginal requests. Documents for review (testing irregularity reports) will be available starting next week.

Jason Gaston, APRDistrict PR/Media RelationsHoover City Schools205.439.1054@hooverschools



- Response rom Gaston t at e wou scan reports
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.praccreditation.org/currentAPRs/ValueofAPR.htmlhttp://www.twitter.com/hooverschoolshttp://www.avg.com/http://www.avg.com/http://www.twitter.com/hooverschoolshttp://www.praccreditation.org/currentAPRs/ValueofAPR.htmlmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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From: Trisha Powell CrainTo: "Gaston, Jason"Cc: [email protected] ; Jim PewittSubject: RE: Document requestsDate: Wednesday, October 29, 2014 5:30:51 PM

Jason, I appreciate the update.

Can you please confirm whether these are the payroll documents I requested on January 27? Specifically,

The listing of all payroll records of all earnings for all persons paid through Hoover CitySchools for the 2012 and 2013 calendar years . Parameters of this request include the name of the employee , the name of the school (costcenter is acceptable as long as cost centers are differentiated if the employee is splitbetween multiple schools or transferred at some point during 2012 and/or 2013), employee

identification number or other unique identifier (in the event there are two employeeswith similar names), salary and itemization of any and all stipends or supplements paidthrough Hoover City Schools' payroll. In addition, please indicate any amounts paid forovertime earned by each employee.

Your unwillingness to be specific makes me question whether these are the documents to which youare referring. Thank you.

Trisha Powell CrainExecutive DirectorAlabama School [email protected]

From: Gaston, Jason [mailto:[email protected]]Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2014 4:13 PMTo: '[email protected]'; ASC email ([email protected])Subject: Document requests

I have gathered some materials and will begin scanning them to you tomorrow, along with youroriginal requests. Documents for review (testing irregularity reports) will be available starting next week.

Jason Gaston, APRDistrict PR/Media RelationsHoover City Schools

- Request or c ar cat on o w at Gaston wou e sen ng, page
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.praccreditation.org/currentAPRs/ValueofAPR.htmlhttp://www.praccreditation.org/currentAPRs/ValueofAPR.htmlmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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205.439.1054@hooverschools


102914 1730 - Request for clarification of what Gaston would be sending, page 2
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From: Trisha Powell CrainTo: Gaston, Jason ( [email protected])Cc: [email protected] ; Jim PewittSubject: Update Requested on Outstanding Open Records requests from January 11 and January 27Date: Monday, November 03, 2014 9:14:25 AM Attachments: 1 - TPCrain ORA Request 012714 - Hoover City Schools - Payroll Records.pdf

2 - TPCrain ORA Request 031914 followup 1 - Hoover City Schools - Payroll Records.pdf 3 - JGaston Response 032514 claiming 012714 was fulfilled.pdf 4 - TPCrain ORA Request 050314 followup 2 - Hoover City Schools - Payroll Records.pdf 5 - TPCrain ORA Request 071314 followup 3 - Hoover City Schools - Payroll Records.pdf 6 - TPCrain Email 072114 to JG re Payroll Records Are Public.pdf 7 - TPCrain Email 072614 to JG re California Database Creation.pdf 8 - OutstandingHooverOpenRecordsRequests-090814.pdf

Jason, following up to my October 18, 2014, email and our telephone conversation on Friday,October 31, 2014, I respectfully request immediate production of these records. I appreciate your fulfilling many of my other previously outstanding requests and will forwardcorrespondence acknowledging each of those fulfillments individually in the next few days.

However, this request, now more than 9 months old, remains unfilled. I call to your attention my most recent October 18, 2014, plea for immediate production of theserecords and the November 3, 2014, deadline I noted. Today is November 3, 2014. I look forward to your response. Trisha Powell Crain

Executive DirectorAlabama School [email protected]

From: Trisha Powell Crain [mailto:[email protected]]Sent: Saturday, October 18, 2014 5:36 PMTo: Gaston, Jason ([email protected])Cc: [email protected]; Jim PewittSubject: Outstanding Open Records requests from January 11 and January 27 Mr. Gaston, I request immediate production of the documents requested in an Alabama OpenRecords request I originally placed on January 11 and modified on January 27, 2014. In thatelectronic mail (email), I requested the following information (emphasis was included in theJanuary 27, 2014, email):

Pursuant to the Alabama Open Records Act, I request a listing of all payroll records of allearnings for all persons paid through Hoover City Schools for the 2012 and 2013 calendaryears . Parameters of this request include the name of the employee , the name of the school (cost

- Request or up ate on Payro Recor s request, page


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center is acceptable as long as cost centers are differentiated if the employee is splitbetween multiple schools or transferred at some point during 2012 and/or 2013), employeeidentification number or other unique identifier (in the event there are two employeeswith similar names), salary and itemization of any and all stipends or supplements paidthrough Hoover City Schools' payroll. In addition, please indicate any amounts paid forovertime earned by each employee.

It is my understanding that the information I am requesting is similar to the informationprovided on employees' W-2 tax forms. Because these records are maintained electronically, I appreciate your consideration inproviding these records electronically. If you choose to provide them in some other format,please state your reason for choosing the format through which you provide thisinformation.

264 days have passed since I submitted the modified request on January 27, 2014.

I have attached PDFs of information related to this request, including emails that you and I haveexchanged about this request, in chronological order.

The January 27, 2014, request is Attachment 1. On March 14, 2014, you provided a copy of my January 27, 2014, email with the words Fulfilled,March-14-2014 handwritten in the upper right-hand corner while I was at the Hoover Board of Education building to review the personnel files of two employees pursuant to a separate request.(Attachment 2, pp. 2-3) On March 19, 2014, I notified you that the provision of Statements of Economic Interests on March14, 2014, did not satisfy the parameters of the January 27, 2014, request. (Attachment 2) Please note that, upon further review, I recognize that in the next-to-last paragraph of the March19, 2014, email, I mistakenly worded the last part of the sentence by leaving out the word not.However, the subject line of the email clearly indicates not fulfilled. My apologies for anyconfusion that leaving that word out may have caused, though I feel certain I have made very clearthat the January 27, 2014, request for payroll records has not been satisfied in all furthercommunications. On March 25, 2014, you claimed to have fulfilled the January 27, 2014, on March 14, 2014, byproviding a listing of employees required to file Statement of Economic Interests (SOEIs).(Attachment 3) On May 3, 2014, I requested an explanation of how SOEIs satisfied my request for payroll records inan email with the Subject title of FOIA 01272014 unfilled . You have never responded to thatrequest. (Attachment 4)



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On July 13, 2014, I reminded you of my outstanding records and information requests via email. Youhave never responded to that request. (Attachment 5) In addition to the written conversations, you and I have spoken verbally about this request onmultiple occasions.


On July 26, 2014, I forwarded to you via email a news item regarding Californias statewide databaseof public education employees payroll information to which you replied, Thanks on July 27, 2014.(Attachment 7) On September 8, 2014, I presented a printout of outstanding Open Records Requests to Board

President Donna Frazier and Board Vice President Derrick Murphy during the Public Participationportion of the Board of Education meeting. No one contacted me about those outstanding requests.(Attachment 8) On October 6, 2014, I spoke of this outstanding request for payroll records during the publicparticipation portion of the Board of Education meeting, making it clear that I had not yet received aresponse to the Open Records Request for payroll records. The meeting was recorded on digitalaudio. No one has responded to me about this request. I have copied Mr. Sweeney on this request to ask for his help in providing advice to you regardingthe Open Records law in Alabama. While Mr. Sweeney has made it clear in the past that he fullyrecognizes that current Alabama Open Records law does not provide a time limit for response forrequests for open records, he also has acknowledged that the amount of time for response shouldbe reasonable. You may recall that in 2008, only four months had passed while waiting for a records request to befilled when I filed a lawsuit to pursue a remedy to the Hoover Board of Educations inaction on arequest for emails between board members and Superintendent Andy Craig. You may also recallthat I agreed to settle the lawsuit out of court, and the Hoover Board of Education agreed to pay theexpenses of the attorney I retained in that case.

I have been overly patient with this particular request. Given Mr. Coopers line of questioning directed at me during the public participation portion of theOctober 6, 2014, board meeting, one could infer that my open records and information requests arebeing treated differently . Further, Superintendent Andy Craigs direct response to me when Irequested how the information he had agreed to provide four months earlier would be providedallows further insight as to how my requests are being handled.



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From: Trisha Powell CrainTo: Gaston, Jason ( [email protected])Cc: [email protected]: Open Records requestsDate: Friday, November 14, 2014 6:48:22 PM

Jason, I recognize now that you, as Hoovers Public Information Officer, have no intention of filling

my outstanding records requests, specifically the ones for payroll records, test irregularity reports,and instructions sent by Dr. Debra Smith. It saddens me to see you and Mr. Sweeney hide behind the Open Records Acts lack of a mandatoryresponse time in order to withhold information from those who are committed to using theinformation requested to improve public education for our communitys children. I will not take the bait and spend my familys money to retain an attorney to obtain these records. I would ask that you spend a little time looking in the mirror and re-reading the code of ethics for

your profession. And then, when you cash your paycheck, paid for with public funds, remember howhard you work to keep the publics information from us. Sleep well. Trisha Powell CrainExecutive DirectorAlabama School [email protected]

- Not cat on I wou not e su ng t em at t s t me.


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From: Trisha Powell CrainTo: Gaston, Jason ( [email protected])Cc: "Jim Pewitt" ; [email protected]: FW: Open Records requestsDate: Friday, December 19, 2014 4:11:49 PM

Mr. Gaston, pursuant to our conversation today after the Hoover Board of Education meeting, this is

to clarify that my November 14 email in no way ended the timeline on the open records request forpayroll records. The full email is attached below. I simply stated that I had chosen not to retain an attorney to sue the Hoover Board of Education forthese records. But that option is still available to me, as I have still not received the payroll records Irequested in January 2014. During our conversation, you stated that Mr. Sweeney had sent me a response about the payroll

records. An exhaustive search of my emails, including those backed up on my web host server, hasnot produced any response from Mr. Sweeney about the payroll record request. Please provide boththe response from Mr. Sweeney and the date Mr. Sweeney sent the response. Case law is clear: payroll records are public records. The clock is still ticking. Today marks Day 326 . Trisha Powell CrainExecutive Director

Alabama School [email protected]

From: Trisha Powell Crain [mailto:[email protected]]Sent: Friday, November 14, 2014 6:48 PMTo: Gaston, Jason ([email protected])Cc: [email protected]: Open Records requests Jason, I recognize now that you, as Hoovers Public Information Officer, have no intention of fillingmy outstanding records requests, specifically the ones for payroll records, test irregularity reports,and instructions sent by Dr. Debra Smith. It saddens me to see you and Mr. Sweeney hide behind the Open Records Acts lack of a mandatoryresponse time in order to withhold information from those who are committed to using theinformation requested to improve public education for our communitys children. I will not take the bait and spend my familys money to retain an attorney to obtain these records. I would ask that you spend a little time looking in the mirror and re-reading the code of ethics for

- Request to pro uce Payro Recor s request, page


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your profession. And then, when you cash your paycheck, paid for with public funds, remember howhard you work to keep the publics information from us. Sleep well. Trisha Powell Crain

Executive DirectorAlabama School [email protected]

- Request to pro uce Payro Recor s request, page

All Emails Related to Payroll Records Request Through December 27 2014

Documents

Transcript of All Emails Related to Payroll Records Request Through December 27 2014