from: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
to: Michele Avendano <[email protected]>
cc: [email protected]
date: Feb 9, 2022, 4:11 PM
subject: Records Request: (February 2022) Multi-part request related to Gaston College (Dallas, NC) Covid 19 Funds Distribution 01/01/2019 – 02/08/2022
Good afternoon Gaston College (201 Highway 321 South, Dallas, NC 28034) Records Officer,
I’d like to make a public records request for information that may be available in your office.
If you’re not the appropriate party to contact about the request, please provide the correct name and email address of whom I should send it to.
Please confirm receipt to let me know the request will begin processing, and if possible, please provide a rough estimate of when the request may be completed. I will plan on following up again around the end of the month if I have not heard back before then.
Here are the details of the request:
Subject: (February 2022) Multi-part request related to Gaston College (Dallas, NC) Covid 19 Funds Distribution 01/01/2019 – 02/08/2022
Message: “Hello Gaston College (201 Highway 321 South, Dallas, NC 28034) Records Officer,
I’d like to make a multi-part public records request for the following information under NC Public Records Law.
Ref: https://www.ncleg.net/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bychapter/chapter_132.html
As relates to “Covid-19 Funds Distribution” and “Covid-19 Economic Relief Funds/COVID-related federal funding” …
A1. Please provide the total amount of Covid-19 funds received by and allotted to, Gaston College, from 01/01/2019 through 02/08/2022 (or as of the date that the query is performed).
A2. Additionally – Please provide a detailed list of all Covid-19 “funds used”, allotted to, and spent by Gaston College, for the following categories during this same time period. This list should include:
– Name
– Department
– Payroll
– Amount of pay/ bonus awarded
– Equipment including laptops, computers, etc.
– Supplies including PPE purchases
– Reimbursement to Students, Staff, Faculty, Administration, Etc.
– Total amount of monies given to student Athletes for food, travel, housing from the allotted Covid-19 Economic Relief Funds/COVID-related federal funding.
B. Please provide a list of all Gaston College employees at 201 Highway 321 South, Dallas NC, who received Covid-19 Economic Relief Funds/COVID-related federal funding “hazard pay” or “bonus” as an “ essential worker” from 01/01/2019 through 02/08/2022 (or as of the date that the query is performed).
If any of the records requested are ultimately too large to send via emailed file share, I’d ask that you please create a public Google Drive folder / link or some other file format to transfer the files electronically.
** If you are unable to fulfill any or all parts of this request, please specifically cite where a reason for denial is justified under NC public records law. **
Thank you for your assistance!
————
[ Editor’s Note to Gaston College: Pertinent to note –
In September 2021, after multiple follow up attempts, we “Closed” an unrelated request sent to Gaston College when we did not receive any additional response from Michele Avendano since her last email on June 25, 2021.
We’ve copied that conversation below so that your office, and any future requesters on our website, are aware of this information – as it may continue to be pertinent to future requests we continue to receive, and will be sending in soon:
from: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
to: Michele Avendano <[email protected]>, [email protected]
date: Sep 13, 2021, 4:25 PM
subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] Records Request: (May 2021) Request for Gaston College, Dallas NC Council assignments
“Hi Michele,
Upon further inspection of the response you sent over:
“Public records law does not require a government agency to create or compile a record that does not exist, and Gaston College does not maintain a specific record or report that
contains the data in this information request.”
I agree with you, but for users on our site I just wanted to note where this is cited more fully under NC Public Records Law:
“(a) Persons requesting copies of public records may elect to obtain them in any and all media in which the public agency is capable of providing them. No request for copies of public records in a particular medium shall be denied on the grounds that the custodian has made or prefers to make the public records available in another medium. The public agency may assess different fees for different media as prescribed by law.”
“(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a public agency to respond to a request for a copy of a public record by creating or compiling a record that does not exist. If a public agency, as a service to the requester, voluntarily elects to create or compile a record, it may negotiate a reasonable charge for the service with the requester. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a public agency to put into electronic medium a record that is not kept in electronic medium. (1995, c. 388, s. 3; 2004-129, s. 38.)”
Ref: https://www.ncleg.net/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bysection/chapter_132/gs_132-6.2.html
Specifically — I just wanted to note the piece that says you are not required to put public records into an electronic medium, if they do not already exist in that format.
I’m sure that the records requested don’t exist, and so they also aren’t in an electronic format either, and that’s fine. I just wanted to note this law for any future requesters, since we do get a lot of interest in requests about Gaston College in particular.
——
Additionally — You’ve also cited on other unrelated requests we’ve submitted that:
“The Gaston College Foundation, which is guided by a 15 voting member Board of Directors, is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization” … and … “is not subject to public records laws.”
I’m just wondering if you can please clarify this difference in organizational structure for future requests — What type of legal entity is Gaston College? Are you a Government-run agency, receiving government funding? Are you a Non-profit, etc.? Where specifically are you exempt from NC public records laws? And can you please cite a specific link (URL) to that section of NC Public Records Law so that we can reference this in future requests?
Thank you for your assistance! “ ] “
Thank you!
** Sunshine Request (www.sunshinerequest.com) makes no claim as to the veracity of any statements or information contained in any of the requests, or public records, we receive.
Status:
Sent to Government
