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- Public Information Request Sent to Findlay City Schools
Public Information Request Sent to Findlay City Schools
Findlay City Schools Board of Education
February 5, 2024
Mr. Chris Aldrich, President
Dr. Karthy Siebenaler Wilson, Vice President
Mrs. Susan Russel, Member
Ms. Laura Eier, Member
Mr. Matt Cooper, Member
Mrs. Pam Harrington, Treasurer
Re: Follow-up
Dear Distinguished Members of the Board,
On January 29, my father, Rick Eakin, and I sent a letter to the School Board members inviting clarification. On January 30, we received a reply from the FCS Board President, Chris Aldrich. The response from Mr. Aldrich did not clarify any elements of our letter. Consequently, I sent a follow-up email later that afternoon, asking which part of our letter his reply was addressing. Since then, we have not received any further response from members of the School Board.
Moreover, Mr. Aldrich's response raised more questions than it answered. For example, he stated, "I fully support the decisions and actions of our Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, and our Building Principal, and I am proud of the actions they took to ensure the integrity of FFE." However, there are at least two Assistant Superintendents, leaving ambiguity as to which one Mr. Aldrich was referring to.
The attached request is broken into 4 sections to avoid redundancy and duplication: Section 1: Requested Materials Section 2: Date ranges of requested materials Section 4: Other requested materials Section 3: Information related to fulfilling or denying PIRs
The fact that Kevin Manley is back directing FFE in no way diminishes the validity of our requested clarifications. As our original inquiry remains unanswered in a substantive manner, the attached request will assist me in clarifying what the School Board has not.
Thank you for your dedication to our schools and community.
Sincerely,
John R. Eakin
Pursuant to the Ohio Rev. Code §149.43, I hereby request the following records:
Requested Materials
Text and email messages, sent to or written by Dr. Andy Hatton and the following individuals:
Mrs. Krista Crates-Miller, Assistant Superintendent, Findlay City Schools
Mrs. Krista (Voorhees) Bigger, Assistant Choir Director, Findlay High School
Mr. Kevin Manley, Choral Director, Findlay High School
Mrs. Alycia (Althaus) Fox, Band Director, Glenwood Middle School
Text and email messages, sent to or written by Mrs. Krista Crates-Miller and the following individuals:
Dr. Andy Hatton, Superintendent, Findlay City Schools
Mrs. Krista (Voorhees) Bigger
Mr. Kevin Manley, Choral Director
Mrs. Alycia (Althaus) Fox
Text and email messages, sent to or written by Ms. Megan Simon and the following individuals:
Dr. Andy Hatton
Mrs. Krista Crates-Miller
Mrs. Krista (Voorhees) Bigger
Mr. Kevin Manley, Choral Director
Mrs. Alycia (Althaus) Fox
Text and email messages directed to or written by:
Dr. Andy Hatton
Mrs. Krista Crates-Miller
Mrs. Krista (Voorhees) Bigger
Mrs. Alycia (Althaus) Fox
Ms. Megan Simon, Head Principal, Findlay High School
Mr. Mark Laux, Assistant Principal, Findlay High School
Containing any or all of the words below:
"Kevin Manley”
“Manley"
"Findlay First Edition”
"First Edition”
“FFE"
“Choir"
"Show Choir”
“Choral"
"The Boingers”
“Hazing”
“The Courier”
“Newspaper”
“JD Smith”
“JD”
Date ranges for requested materials
I am requesting each lettered item described under the criteria in Section 1. Each lettered item is considered an element. Each person contained in an element is an individual component. There are four elements containing 19 individual components in total. I am requesting text and email messages from the 19 individual components based on the element for the six date ranges below. In total, there are 114 items being requested under this section.
May 31, 2023 to July 12, 2023.
July 13, 2023 to August 21, 2023.
August 22, 2023 to October 3, 2023.
October 4, 2023 to November 14, 2023.
November 15, 2023 to December 27, 2023.
December 28, 2023 to January 25, 2023.
Other requested materials
A copy of the active collective bargaining agreement between the Findlay Education Association and Findlay City Schools.
Kevin Manley’s signed teaching contract.
Kevin Manley’s signed supplemental contracts.
The signed agreement between Education Service Center of Central Ohio and Findlay City Schools.
The signed agreement between Janice Collette and Findlay City Schools.
All outstanding or paid invoices related to the FFE Investigation, including legal counsel.
Information related to fulfilling or denying PIRs
To clarify, the request for "Text and email messages" is irrespective of the application or device utilized, whether it be public or private. This inclusive scope is supported by the precedent set in the case of Sinclair Media III, Inc. v. Cincinnati, 2019-Ohio-2623.
Moreover, in reference to a statement in the FFE Investigation Report, it's worth noting that the Ohio Revised Code doesn't suggest you "should" provide the requested documents, but rather, it states that you "must."
Any denial concerning my request requires you to adhere to the provisions under Ohio Rev. Code § 149.43(B)(2), which states:
In accordance with the Ohio Revised Code, specifically under Ohio Rev. Code § 149.43(B)(3), it is not acceptable to deny the entirety of my request if certain elements can be fulfilled. This provision ensures that partial compliance is required when possible, and a blanket denial is not permitted:
I request that all information be delivered electronically in the form of a compressed folder (in either .zip or .7z format) and uploaded to a file-sharing platform such as Google Drive, Dropbox, or WeTransfer. This method ensures a more efficient and secure transfer.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days.
Sincerely,
John R. Eakin