Editor’s Note: Sunshine Request makes no claim as to the veracity of any statements or information contained in any of the requests, or public records, we receive.
Other (indicate in message) Submitted: November 29, 2022 | Updated: February 28, 2023
(November 2022) Request for Guilford County, NC Schools: “Legal, audit and investigative fees”. 07/01/2019 – 06/30/2022
Hello Jose / Guilford County, NC Schools (Records Officer),
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
This request is related to “Legal, audit and investigative fees from 07/01/2019 through 06/30/2022 for Guilford County Schools”.
Specifically – I’d like to request the invoices of all payments made to all Law Firm(s), Audit Firm(s) and Investigation Agencies [unspecified] by Guilford County Schools during the specific time period of July 01, 2019 through June 30, 2022. This should also include a description of the reason for each of the fees charged.
I would ideally like to receive the records in PDF format, if possible.
Please Note: I am not requesting to come in person to inspect, nor to obtain printed copies of, electronic records. In accordance with NC Public Records Law, I’m requesting explicitly that all responsive records be provided via an electronic medium / format (in which the records should already exist), such as an email, file share, google drive folder, mailed flash drive if necessary, etc.
I do not have any additional or further clarifying info to provide other than what you see in the message above. 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.
--------
[** Editor’s Note: This request has been sent solely from the email address [email protected] . If anyone other than that email address contacts you to pursue a similar request, it did not come from our Team. Please do not commingle or treat that as an alteration or cancellation of our request – We intend to continue to pursue our request.
Please note that we cannot commit to sign any forms or pay any potential fees / associated costs related to any request. If it is not possible to process the request without incurring fees, then please let us know the itemized potential cost.]
Thank you for your assistance!
Status: Completed
Documents:
Activity:
-
February 28, 2023 12:43 pm
1 year ago
from: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
to: “Oliva, Jose” <[email protected]>
cc: “Records, Public” <[email protected]>,
“Edwards, Wanda” <[email protected]>,
“Morrison, Shirley D” <[email protected]>
date: Feb 28, 2023, 12:43 PM
subject: Re: Delivery Status Notification (Failure)Hi Jose,
Thank you for your help completing the request!
I have added the information to our website, and will now mark the request as “Completed”.
——–I do just want to note, however, that the way GCS has currently set up their Next Request system — It isn’t possible for requesters to send follow up messages to you directly related to a specific request.
Additionally — although your website indicates that people can possibly find previous results without having to submit a request… currently, you do not have the page set up this way. You can only “track” the status of a specific request. It’s not possible to look up completed records without having the exact request # or confirmation # on hand. The final thing I’d like to point out is that the records requests and their responsive documents / results are not publicly viewable online as described in the following message:
“This web portal will help you communicate with Guilford County Schools about what documents you need. All previous requests and response documents are viewable here online. You may even find what you’re looking for without having to submit a new request!” . https://www.gcsnc.com/Page/63707
For example, the results of my specific request are not available on your website.
I’d like to suggest that GCS make updates to improve the way they’re using the Next Request tool — particularly, so that it’s being utilized in the same way as many other entities in NC. It should be possible for users to search for a request, as well as to see the published results of completed requests.
Thank you!
Status: Completed -
February 24, 2023 1:07 pm
1 year ago
from: JustFOIA Notification <[email protected]>
to: [email protected]
date: Feb 24, 2023, 1:07 PM
subject: Guilford County Schools Records Request PRR-164-2022 CompletedHello,
The request Request Number: PRR-164-2022 has been completed.
Thank you,
Guilford County Schools*Note: This is an automated email notification. Please do not respond to this email.
Status: Response Received from Government -
February 24, 2023 1:07 pm
1 year ago
from: José Oliva (Guilford County Schools, NC <[email protected]>
to: [email protected]
date: Feb 24, 2023, 1:07 PM
subject: PRR-164-2022 – Request CompleteGood afternoon:
Here are the documents responsive to your request.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1LOS4OK0rwiCrXZam51WF-A0hdYs1lPR8?usp=sharing
Thank you,
**Editor’s Note: You can also see the referenced file (“PRR-164-2022-20230227T182842Z-001.zip”) at top left in our Documents section.
Status: Response Received from Government -
February 23, 2023 4:06 pm
1 year ago
from: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
to: “Oliva, Jose” <[email protected]>
cc: “Records, Public” <[email protected]>, “Edwards, Wanda” <[email protected]>, “Morrison, Shirley D” <[email protected]>
date: Feb 23, 2023, 4:06 PM
subject: Re: Delivery Status Notification (Failure)Hi again,
I’ve reread your message just now. You referred to the request as having multiple parts (a Part 1)?
I just want to clarify quickly that the request above is # PRR-164-2022. Sent to you in November 2022. This request asked for:
“Legal, audit and investigative fees from 07/01/2019 through 06/30/2022 for Guilford County Schools”. Specifically — “… invoices of all payments made to all Law Firm(s), Audit Firm(s) and Investigation Agencies [unspecified] by Guilford County Schools during the specific time period of July 01, 2019 through June 30, 2022. This should also include a description of the reason for each of the fees charged.”
——-Please do not confuse this with a different one I’ve been emailing you about separately. That is a different request made in January 2023, and does have “multiple parts”.
If you have any questions about either request, then please reply to me on their appropriate email threads.
Thank you!
Status: Clarification Requested -
February 27, 2023 3:55 pm
1 year ago
from: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
to: “Oliva, Jose” <[email protected]>
cc: “Records, Public” <[email protected]>, “Edwards, Wanda” <[email protected]>, “Morrison, Shirley D” <[email protected]>
date: Feb 23, 2023, 3:55 PM
subject: Re: Delivery Status Notification (Failure)Hi Jose,
Thank you for checking in.
For simplicity — You can just send over all responsive records at whatever point you’re finished processing the request in its entirety.
There’s no need to send in batches, unless it’s just easier for you to do so.
Thank you!
~ The Sunshine Request Team
Status: Government Processing Request -
February 23, 2023 3:52 pm
1 year ago
from: Oliva, Jose <[email protected]> to: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
cc: “Records, Public” <[email protected]>, “Edwards, Wanda” <[email protected]>, “Morrison, Shirley D” <[email protected]>
date: Feb 23, 2023, 3:52 PM
subject: RE: Delivery Status Notification (Failure)Good afternoon:
We have half of this request completed. Let me know if you would like me to send part I.
Thank you for understanding.
Jose Oliva
Status: Government Processing Request -
February 23, 2023 3:37 pm
1 year ago
from: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
to: “Oliva, Jose” <[email protected]> cc: “Records, Public” <[email protected]>, “Edwards, Wanda” <[email protected]>, “Morrison, Shirley D” <[email protected]>
date: Feb 23, 2023, 3:37 PM
subject: Re: Delivery Status Notification (Failure)Hi Jose,
Regarding request ( # PRR-164-2022). First sent to your offices on 11/30/2022:
https://guilfordcountyschoolsnc.justfoia.com/publicportal/requests/PRR-164-2022/view?RequestNumber=PRR-164-2022Thanks again for your response on 02/15/23.
I’m following up with you regarding my reply also on 02/15. I have not heard anything else. Can you please let me know when you anticipate the request will be completed?
Thank you for your help!
~ Lauren (and The sunshine Request Team)
Status: Follow up -
February 15, 2023 2:35 pm
1 year ago
from: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
to: “Oliva, Jose” <[email protected]>
cc: “Records, Public” <[email protected]>, “Edwards, Wanda” <[email protected]>, “Morrison, Shirley D” <[email protected]>
date: Feb 15, 2023, 2:35 PM
subject: Re: Delivery Status Notification (Failure)Good Afternoon Jose,
Thank you for your response.
While I do have a personal phone # I could provide — by law it is not necessary for me to do so in order for you to process the request. However, I believe that if needed, you have that information in my account on your portal.
If you have a specific question about the request, then it is preferred that you please send it to me via this email thread, or through the request portal. Simply because — we post all of our communications / steps about the records request process on our website in their entirety. We do this in order to help teach citizens about making public records requests, and to help improve public transparency in the process.
If you have any questions that cannot be answered via email for some reason, then I will be happy to arrange to speak with you by phone.
Thank you for your help!
~ Lauren (and The sunshine Request Team)
Status: Clarification Provided -
February 15, 2023 11:23 am
1 year ago
from: Oliva, Jose <[email protected]>
to: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>, “Records, Public” <[email protected]>, “Edwards, Wanda” <[email protected]>, “Morrison, Shirley D” <[email protected]>
date: Feb 15, 2023, 11:23 AM
subject: Re: Delivery Status Notification (Failure)Good afternoon:
We will review your request and get back to you. I apologize for the delay. Do you have a phone number to reach you at?
Jose Oliva
Status: Response Received from Government -
February 15, 2023 2:13 pm
1 year ago
from: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
to: [email protected], “Oliva, Jose” <[email protected]>, [email protected], [email protected]
date: Feb 15, 2023, 2:13 PM
subject: Re: Delivery Status Notification (Failure)Hello Jose (and all others CCed),
This is my 5th and final attempt to follow up with you regarding my public records request (PRR-164-2022). First sent to your offices on 11/30/2022:
– This is the link to my request made through your website: https://guilfordcountyschoolsnc.justfoia.com/publicportal/requests/PRR-164-2022/view?RequestNumber=PRR-164-2022
– This is the link to my request, posted on my own website, where you can review all additional communications I’ve sent you about the request, to date: (November 2022) Request for Guilford County, NC Schools: “Legal, audit and investigative fees”. 07/01/2019 – 06/30/2022I have not received any response to my request since it was first submitted in November, nor have I received a reply to any of my follow up emails.
I cannot even email you directly through your records portal to try to follow up … since you do not have the portal set up in that way. It is unreasonable that myself or any future requestors should have to communicate with you in such a cumbersome manner, just to try and get a response. This is an unnecessary / extra barrier to access public information, as I have already provided all of the required details to your organization via my records request submission through the portal on 11/30/22. I would expect to receive some response confirming receipt of the request, and providing an indication of the timeline for completion of the request.
I want to express my concern regarding the management of this request, and I worry that GCS is not processing public records requests in compliance with the Law.
https://www.ncleg.net/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bychapter/chapter_132.htmlI would highly recommend that Guilford County Schools revisit their current public records request fulfillment process to ensure you’re in compliance with the Law, and that you fulfill requests in a timely manner.
As I mentioned previously, I have made all reasonable attempts to follow up with your offices, and having received no reply I am now marking the request as having been “Denied” by your offices.
~The Sunshine Request Team
Status: Follow up -
February 1, 2023 12:41 pm
1 year ago
from: Mail Delivery Subsystem <[email protected]>
date: Feb 1, 2023, 12:41 PM
subject: Delivery Status Notification (Failure)Message blocked
Your message to [email protected] has been blocked. See technical details below for more information.
Status: Clarification Requested -
February 1, 2023 12:40 pm
1 year ago
from: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
to: [email protected], [email protected], “Oliva, Jose” <[email protected]>, [email protected], [email protected]
date: Feb 1, 2023, 12:40 PM
subject: Re: Delivery Status Notification (Failure)Good Afternoon Jose (Olivia, Guilford County Schools Webmaster, and Public Records CCed),
This message is in regard to my public records request (PRR-164-2022). First sent to your office on 11/3022:
(November 2022) Request for Guilford County, NC Schools: “Legal, audit and investigative fees”. 07/01/2019 – 06/30/2022This is the 4th time I’ve followed up on this request. To date I have not received any response since first submitting the request.
It is not possible for me to send you a follow up email directly through your records portal … since you do not have the portal set up that way. Additionally — for months, the messages I’ve sent to Jose’s justfoia address above regarding various requests, continue to bounce back to me with a notice that says they’ve been “blocked” by [email protected] . This tells me that my email address ([email protected]) has been “blocked” as spam, or for some other reason by GCS, and isn’t being accepted.
Please correct that designation so that this doesn’t continue to happen in the future. I am a real person making a valid public records request under the NC Public Records Law, and I expect for my email address to be accepted and responded to in a timely manner.
This is my final attempt to follow up. If I do not hear back within one week, I will mark the request as having been “Denied” by your offices.
Thank you for your help.
~The Sunshine Request Team
Status: Clarification Requested -
December 19, 2022 5:42 pm
1 year ago
from: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
to: [email protected], [email protected]
date: Dec 19, 2022, 5:42 PM
subject: Re: Delivery Status Notification (Failure)Good Evening Jose (and Guilford County, NC Schools Webmaster, and Public Records CCed),
I have removed this email address from the thread above, so that I do not continue to receive bounceback errors: [email protected]
It is not possible for me to send you a follow up email through your records portal … since you do not have the portal set up that way. The messages I’ve been sending to Jose’s justfoia address above, continue to bounce back to me with a notice that says they’ve been “blocked” by [email protected] . This tells me that my email address ([email protected]) has been “blocked” as spam, or for some other reason, and isn’t being accepted.
Please correct that designation, if that is the case, so that this doesn’t happen in the future. I am a real person making a valid public records request under NC Public Records Law, and I expect for my address to be accepted and responded to.
I haven’t received any replies to any of my previous messages.
I will make one more attempt to follow up / call your offices next month, and if I do not hear back I will mark the request as “Denied”.
Thank you for your help.
~The Sunshine Request Team
Status: Follow up -
December 19, 2022 3:50 pm
1 year ago
from: Mail Delivery Subsystem <[email protected]>
to: [email protected]
date: Dec 19, 2022, 3:50 PM
subject: Delivery Status Notification (Failure)Message blocked
Your message to [email protected] has been blocked. See technical details below for more information.
Status: Follow up -
December 19, 2022 3:50 pm
1 year ago
from: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
to: [email protected]
cc: [email protected],
[email protected]
date: Dec 19, 2022, 3:50 PM
subject: Re: Follow Up on PRR-164-2022Good afternoon Guilford County Schools,
I’m following up again on this public records request (PRR-164-2022) that was sent in on 11/30:
(November 2022) Request for Guilford County, NC Schools: “Legal, audit and investigative fees”. 07/01/2019 – 06/30/2022I haven’t received any replies, and wanted to see if you could provide an estimated completion date on this request? I’ll plan to follow up again in January if I don’t hear back before then.
Thank you for your assistance!
Status: Follow up -
December 12, 2022 3:35 pm
1 year ago
from: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
to: [email protected]
date: Dec 12, 2022, 3:35 PM
subject: Follow Up on PRR-164-2022Good afternoon Guilford County Schools,
I’m following up on this public records request (PRR-164-2022) that was sent in on 11/30:
(November 2022) Request for Guilford County, NC Schools: “Legal, audit and investigative fees”. 07/01/2019 – 06/30/2022I wanted to see if you could provide an update or an estimated completion date on this request? I’ll plan to follow up again at the end of the month if I have not heard back before then.
Thank you for your assistance!
Status: Follow up -
November 30, 2022 3:38 pm
1 year ago
from: JustFOIA Notification <[email protected]>
to: [email protected]
date: Nov 30, 2022, 3:38 PM
subject: Guilford County Schools Records Request ConfirmationThank you for submitting a request for records to Guilford County Schools.
Your request reference number is Request Number: PRR-164-2022.
Please have this reference number available when communicating with our staff regarding your request.
Note: This is an automated email notification. Please do not respond to this email.
Status: Government Processing Request -
November 30, 2022 3:38 pm
1 year ago
**Editor’s Note: This request was sent in via Guilford County School’s public records request form on their site. We will post any updates we receive here. Thank you for using Sunshine Request!
Hello Guilford County Schools (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 in early December if I have not heard back before then.
Here are the details of the request:
Subject: (November 2022) Request for Guilford County, NC Schools: “Legal, audit and investigative fees”. 07/01/2019 – 06/30/2022
Message: “Hello Jose / Guilford County, NC Schools (Records Officer),
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.htmlThis request is related to “Legal, audit and investigative fees from 07/01/2019 through 06/30/2022 for Guilford County Schools”.
Specifically – I’d like to request the invoices of all payments made to all Law Firm(s), Audit Firm(s) and Investigation Agencies [unspecified] by Guilford County Schools during the specific time period of July 01, 2019 through June 30, 2022. This should also include a description of the reason for each of the fees charged.
I would ideally like to receive the records in PDF format, if possible.
Please Note: I am not requesting to come in person to inspect, nor to obtain printed copies of, electronic records. In accordance with NC Public Records Law, I’m requesting explicitly that all responsive records be provided via an electronic medium / format (in which the records should already exist), such as an email, file share, google drive folder, mailed flash drive if necessary, etc.
I do not have any additional or further clarifying info to provide other than what you see in the message above. 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.
——–[** Editor’s Note: This request has been sent solely from the email address [email protected] . If anyone other than that email address contacts you to pursue a similar request, it did not come from our Team. Please do not commingle or treat that as an alteration or cancellation of our request – We intend to continue to pursue our request.
Please note that we cannot commit to sign any forms or pay any potential fees / associated costs related to any request. If it is not possible to process the request without incurring fees, then please let us know the itemized potential cost.]
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 -
November 29, 2022 3:24 pm
1 year ago
Submitted to Sunshine Request
Status: Pending