Date:
09/20/2018
Subject:
Daniel Greenwell/Sioux City Community School District - Dismissal Order
Opinion:
The Iowa Public Information Board
|
In re the Matter of: Daniel Greenwell, Complainant And Concerning: Sioux City Community School District, Respondent |
Case Number: 18FC:0027 Dismissal Order |
COMES NOW Margaret E. Johnson, Executive Director for the Iowa Public Information Board (IPIB), and enters this Dismissal Order.
Daniel Greenwell filed formal complaint 18FC:0027 on April 3, 2018, alleging that the Sioux City Community School District School Board (Board) violated Iowa Code chapter 21 at the meeting on March 26, 2018, when the Superintendent did not answer questions and when the Board addressed matters not on the agenda. He also claimed that he was not provided a copy of the detailed budget information he requested.
Maureen Heffernan, legal counsel to the Board, addressed the complaint. She responded:
1.There was no deliberation or action taken on the Board member comment at the meeting.
2.Iowa Code section 21.7 allows a governmental body to conduct orderly meetings that are free from interruption or interference from the audience.
3.The speaker was asked to address a specific question from a Board member. No deliberation or action occurred.
4.There are no details concerning meetings outside the properly noticed open meetings.
5.Mr. Greenwell has received public records in response to his request. He has asked for certain records to contain detailed information beyond what is in the actual record.
Mr. Greenwell asked to amend his complaint to allege that the law firm representing the Board has a conflict of interest in addressing his complaint, that the Superintendent is overstepping his authority, that the school district’s financial officer has a conflict due to prior employment, and that the school district has not properly sought bids for its audit. None of these issues are within the jurisdiction of the IPIB.
Counsel for the Board is correct in her response to the alleged violation of Chapter 21. Iowa Code chapter 21.7 does not require that the Board allow observers to speak or interrupt the meeting. Iowa Code chapter 21 does not govern the duties of a superintendent. Iowa Code section 21.2(2) requires “deliberation or action” in the definition of a meeting; comments made during the meeting are not required to be on an agenda unless it is planned for deliberation or action on the topic. Stopping the comments by the Board member and the speaker was the proper way to prevent deliberation or action.
A review of the meeting video by IPIB staff confirmed the lack of deliberation or action by the Board.
A companion complaint, 18FC:0026, filed by Dennis Fischer, was previously dismissed on the same Chapter 21 grounds. This complaint remained open to address the public record complaint.
Mr. Greenwell also alleged a violation of Chapter 22. He alleged he had not received an appropriate response to a request for public records he made on September 13, 2017. He requested budget records for FY 2018. Records were provided to him during the fall and winter of 2017. Mr. Greenwell submitted copies of emails outlining his dispute with the level of detail contained in these record releases.
The attorney for the school district responded that the school district did not maintain the budget records in the detailed format that Mr. Greenwell requested until May 2018. She stated that the records were made available to Mr. Greenwell on May 17, 2018. Mr. Greenwell replied that he did not have those records.
The records were provided to the IPIB on July 24, 2018, and forwarded to Mr. Greenwell on July 25, 2018. The Board provided the records on a thumb drive on August 8, 2018. Mr. Greenwell has not submitted any concerns with these records since that date. He stated he needed additional time to review the records.
The filing date of this complaint is April 3, 2018, more than 60 days after the initial response to his September 13, 2017, record request. At the time of his initial request, the records were not maintained in the format he desired. Since then, the Board has taken steps to update the budget record process to be able to provide additional detail.
There is insufficient information to accept his complaint about release of public records. A government body is not required to explain or provide details on a public record. In addition, his Chapter 22 complaint is most likely outside the 60 day jurisdictional limitations imposed upon the IPIB by Iowa Code section 23.7(1).
Iowa Code section 23.8 requires that a complaint be within the IPIB’s jurisdiction, appear legally sufficient, and could have merit before the IPIB accepts a complaint. This complaint does not meet all of those requirements.
IT IS SO ORDERED: Formal complaint 18FC:0027 is dismissed as legally insufficient and outside the jurisdiction of the IPIB pursuant to Iowa Code section 23.8(2) and Iowa Administrative Rule 497-2.1(2)(b).
Pursuant to Iowa Administrative Rule 497-2.1(3), the IPIB may “delegate acceptance or dismissal of a complaint to the executive director, subject to review by the board.” The IPIB will review this Order on September 20, 2018. Pursuant to IPIB rule 497-2.1(4), the parties will be notified in writing of its decision.
By the IPIB Executive Director
_________________________________
Margaret E. Johnson, J.D.
CERTIFICATE OF MAILING
This document was sent by electronic mail on the ___ day of September, 2018, to:
Daniel Greenwell
Maureen Heffernan, attorney for the Sioux City Community School District