Right to Know

PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST PROCEDURE

 

The following are proper procedures for requesting records from The Greater Johnstown School District under Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law, 65 P.S. §§ 66.1 et seq. 

 

• All requests for records must be in writing and signed by the requester. The request should be submitted using the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records Standard Right-to-Know Request Form
• All requests for records shall be addressed to:

                Amy Arcurio, Superintendent

                Greater Johnstown School District

                Right to Know Office

                1091 Broad Street

                Johnstown PA  15906

• All requests shall be in writing and shall be sent to The Greater Johnstown School District by mail, email or delivered in person

                Greater Johnstown School District

                Attn:  Amy Arcurio, Superintendent

                Right to Know Office

                1091 Broad Street

                Johnstown PA  15906

 

                Email forms to:

                Amy Arcurio, Superintendent
                Right to Know Office

                [email protected]                 Greater Johnstown School District

                1091 Broad Street

                Johnstown PA  15906 

 

Rules for Inspection of Requested Documents       

1. Only the Requester, i.e. the individual who submitted the RTKL request, is permitted to participate in the inspection granted by the District. Any other individual wishing to conduct or participate in the inspection must submit a separate RTKL request.
2. District staff may supervise the Requester during the inspection. Records may not be removed from the building at any time during the inspection
3. Appropriate conduct is required in the District offices during the inspection. Examples of inappropriate conduct include, but are not limited to:  shouting and/or unnecessarily loud speaking; use of profanity; verbal abuse of District staff; grabbing and/or touching District staff; defacing materials; removing or attempting to remove any records or other items; playing music in a way that is audible to others.  Inspections will be terminated, or otherwise not permitted, if there is or has been prior inappropriate conduct or if requisite fees have not been paid.  No eating or drinking is permitted during the inspection of records.
4. Copies of records can be made by a Requester during the inspection by use of the District’s photocopier, so long as the requester agrees to pay an applicable duplication fee of $.25 (25 cents) per page, and can make immediate payment by cash or check. Requester will be permitted reasonable use of the photocopier of the District, but only for the purpose of making photocopies, and only when the device is not needed or in use by District staff.
5. Copying of a record by use of a cell phone camera or scanner is only permitted in concert with the request's use and execution of a records log to be provided by the District at the outset of any inspection. Any record that is photographed or scanned by use of a cell phone must be recorded in the records log, including a description of the record captured by use of the cell phone.  Any violation of this condition shall be grounds for immediate termination of the inspection, and failure to accurately record cell phone captured records in the records log will be grounds for the District’s refusal to permit the use of cell phones in any subsequent inspection conducted by the requester.
6. At his or her own risk and expense, a requester may bring into the District office any of the following devices, so long as the device can be transported in and out without disruption of the operations of the District: a photocopier, a laptop computer, and/or a scanner.  Unless the requisite permission has been obtained in advance, requesters are not permitted to bring cameras of any sort, including digital cameras, film cameras, cameras that shoot still photographs, and/or cameras that capture moving images into the District office.  Prior permission is also required to bring any of the following into the inspection:  tape recorders, video recording devices, radios, televisions, space heaters and/or coffee makers.  As indicated above, requesters are permitted to bring cell phones into the inspection but only on the condition that any use of the cell phone as a method to make any copy or duplication of the inspected records must be accurately recorded by the requester in the records log provided by the District at the outset of the inspection.

 Official Right to Know Law Fee Schedule                                 

 

The following fees will be assessed by The Greater Johnstown School District under Section 1307 of the Right-to-Know Law (RTKL) in accordance with the Office of Open Records schedule for Commonwealth agencies and local agencies. 

• Black & White Copies $.25 (25 cents) per copy

          A “copy” is either a single-sided copy, or one side of a double-sided copy, on

          8.5” X 11” or 8.5” X 14” paper

• Colored Copies $.50 (50 cents) per copy

          A requester may ask for black and white copies even if the original is in color

          and color copies are available

• Specialized Documents Actual Cost

          Including, but not necessarily limited to, non-standard sized documents and

          blueprints

• Records Delivered via email No additional fee may be imposed

          If a requester asks to receive records which require redaction's in electronic format,

          an agency may print the records to provide for secure redaction, and then scan

          them in for delivery by email.  Accordingly, the agency may charge the fees

          noted above for either black and white or colored copies, as appropriate.

• Facsimile Actual Cost

          If an agency must print records to send them by facsimile, the agency may

          charge the fees noted above for black and white copies.

• Conversion to Paper Up to $.25 (25 cents) per page

          If a record is only maintained electronically or in other non-paper media,

         duplication fees shall be limited to the lesser of the fee for duplication on

         paper or the fee for duplication in the original media, unless the requester 

         specifically requests for the record to be duplicated in the more

         expensive medium

• Postage Up to actual cost of USPS first-class postage
• Certification Up to $5.00 per record

          Under the RTKL, an agency may impose “reasonable fees for official certification

          of copies if the certification is at the behest of the requester and for the purpose

          of legally verifying the public record.”  The OOR recommends no more than $5.00

          per record to certify a public record.  Certification fees do not include notarization

          fees. 

 

Appeals                                                                                  

 

If a request is denied in whole or in part by the Greater Johnstown School District, an appeal can be filed. 

 

All appeals must be made in writing and sent to:           

            Office of Open Records           

            333 Market Street           

            16th Floor           

            Harrisburg PA  17126-0333 

 

Any appeal must be submitted within 15 business days of the mailing date of the Greater Johnstown School District’s response or within 15 business days of a deemed denial.  The appeal shall state the ground upon which the requester asserts that the record is a public record, legislative record or financial record and shall address any ground stated by an agency for delaying or denying the request. 

 

An identical copy of the appeal must also be submitted to The Greater Johnstown School District Open Records Officer. 

 

Further information with regard to the appeals process can be found at the Office of Open Records website.