from: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
to: Michele Avendano <[email protected]>
date: Feb 1, 2022, 11:52 AM
subject: Records Request: (January 2022) Request for Gaston College in Dallas, NC: Foundation Funds given to employees 01/01/2007 – 10/31/2021
Hello Gaston College in Dallas, NC (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 later this month if I have not heard back before then.
Here are the details of the request:
Subject: (January 2022) Request for Gaston College in Dallas, NC: Foundation Funds given to employees 01/01/2007 – 10/31/2021
Message:
I’d like to make a public records request for the following information under NC Public Records Law.
Ref: https://www.ncleg.net/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bychapter/chapter_132.html
Please provide a list of monies given to any and all Gaston College Employees. Including, but not limited to, the Gaston College Attorney, Current and Past Gaston College Presidents, using “Gaston College Foundation funds”.
All responsive information requested should cover the specific time period of January 01, 2007 – October 31, 2021.
Please include the following:
1. Names of the employee bonus(es) was awarded to
2. Date – dd/mm/yyyy
3. Justification of awarded bonus(es)
4. Dollar amount awarded bonus(es)
If possible, please provide the requested information in an Excel or compatible format.
If the records 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! “ ]
** 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
