Almost every district provides a meeting agenda on-line prior to board meetings. Lodi doesn’t. I submitted the following OPRA request two weeks in advance just so the public can see what will be voted on at the June 24th meeting:
This was the email response I received today from Mr.
Capizzi:
On Wed, Jun 10,
2015 at 02:35 PM, Marc Capizzi wrote:
Mr. Curioni, as you have indicated in the attached OPRA Request dated June 9, 2015, the documents you have requested are not currently available. Therefore, your request will be reviewed once the documents become available to the public beginning Thursday June 25, 2015. In accordance with a recommendation received from the Lodi Board of Education's Attorney, the documents are exempt from disclosure prior to the meeting since they are considered "pre-decisional advisory materials". They will become public after the Board has taken action, at which time all non-exempt documents can be provided.
Regards,
Marc A. Capizzi
Board Secretary/Business Administrator
Lodi Board of Education
8 Hunter Street
P.O. Box 815
Lodi, NJ 07675
973-778-4920 (w)
973-778-1175 (f)
marc.capizzi@lodi.k12.nj.us
Mr. Curioni, as you have indicated in the attached OPRA Request dated June 9, 2015, the documents you have requested are not currently available. Therefore, your request will be reviewed once the documents become available to the public beginning Thursday June 25, 2015. In accordance with a recommendation received from the Lodi Board of Education's Attorney, the documents are exempt from disclosure prior to the meeting since they are considered "pre-decisional advisory materials". They will become public after the Board has taken action, at which time all non-exempt documents can be provided.
Regards,
Marc A. Capizzi
Board Secretary/Business Administrator
Lodi Board of Education
8 Hunter Street
P.O. Box 815
Lodi, NJ 07675
973-778-4920 (w)
973-778-1175 (f)
marc.capizzi@lodi.k12.nj.us
This was my email response citing the Midland Park “attachment”
decision once again:
Dear Mr. Capizzi,
I am aware that the agenda is not yet available. I submitted the OPRA request two weeks in advance so the public will have an opportunity to view the agenda prior to the meeting, not after. Unlike other districts, Lodi does not post their agenda on-line prior to meetings or even at the meetings. This is why I am submitting an OPRA request for the agenda.
In a Record article titled: "Judge rules against Midland Park school board in attachments lawsuit", the first line reads: "A Superior Court judge has ruled that the K-12 Board of Education must make attachments to its agendas available to the public prior to meetings."
Another paragraph reads: "These attachments are already produced in electronic form for the board members and are necessary for the public to understand the agenda," Doyne's opinion states. "The public cannot be 'overloaded' with information concerning the workings of their governmental and municipal entities."
I am only requesting what Superior Court Judge Peter Doyne already decided.
Here is a link to the article:
http://www.northjersey.com/news/judge-rules-against-midland-park-school-board-in-attachments-lawsuit-1.714573
I am aware that the agenda is not yet available. I submitted the OPRA request two weeks in advance so the public will have an opportunity to view the agenda prior to the meeting, not after. Unlike other districts, Lodi does not post their agenda on-line prior to meetings or even at the meetings. This is why I am submitting an OPRA request for the agenda.
In a Record article titled: "Judge rules against Midland Park school board in attachments lawsuit", the first line reads: "A Superior Court judge has ruled that the K-12 Board of Education must make attachments to its agendas available to the public prior to meetings."
Another paragraph reads: "These attachments are already produced in electronic form for the board members and are necessary for the public to understand the agenda," Doyne's opinion states. "The public cannot be 'overloaded' with information concerning the workings of their governmental and municipal entities."
I am only requesting what Superior Court Judge Peter Doyne already decided.
Here is a link to the article:
http://www.northjersey.com/news/judge-rules-against-midland-park-school-board-in-attachments-lawsuit-1.714573
Ryan
