AG Sides With School District In Open Records Dispute

The partial denial of an Open Records request by an eastern Kentucky school district has been upheld in an opinion that turns on privacy concerns.In May, Paul Cummins – citing the compelling public interest of scrutinizing the selection process - sought the resumes of all applicants for superintendent of the Whitley County School District. His request focused on the district’s poor ranking, low ACT scores and history of political interference. Cummins was provided with the resume of the successful candidate, but denied access to the resumes of the 13 people who were not hired. The district said release of the resumes of the unsuccessful candidates would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Cummins appealed, but the attorney general’s office agrees with the school district. The AG’s office says the privacy interests of the applicants, whose identities were not made public, outweigh the public’s interest in disclosure.