Request By:
Ms. Lois L. Arnett
P.O. Box 425
Berea, Kentucky 40403
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Carl Miller, Assistant Attorney General
You have requested an opinion of the Attorney General concerning the application of the Kentucky Open Records Law to the records of a board of education. You state that you are a member of the Berea Independent School District Board and that you have repeatedly requested that the Superintendent furnish the Board with invoices and vouchers for previously incurred and paid expenses and with a copy of the Superintendent's written contract and any modifications or extensions thereto; the Superintendent has refused to honor any of these requests; that the Superintendent claims his refusal is based upon the Kentucky Open Records Law.
First, we would point out that the management of a school district is placed in the control of the Board of Education and that the Superintendent is required to comply with all lawful orders of a majority of the Board. Certainly the Board, and any member of the Board, should have access to all of the records of the School District. If the Superintendent refuses to comply with an order of a majority of the Board to produce records, he would be guilty of insubordination.
In the second place, under the Kentucky Open Records Law, KRS 61.870-61.884, any person is entitled to inspect the records of a public agency unless the records are exempted by law. When a request is made by any person to inspect the records of a public agency, the agency must allow inspection or respond by stating why the records cannot be inspected and by citing the statutory exemption which applies. When the request is made in writing the answer must be made in writing, and if the records are denied the agency must send a copy of its answer to the Attorney General. KRS 61.880. Any person who is denied inspection of a public record may appeal to the Attorney General and the Attorney General will issue an opinion as to whether the record was properly denied. KRS 61.880(2). The exemptions to the open records requirement are listed in KRS 61.878 and we see no exemption which would apply to school district records.
You further state that the Superintendent has based his refusal to provide a copy of his contract on the ground that he is a "constitutional officer" and that the Department of Education has the responsibility of ascertaining that contracts on file are legal.
A constitutional officer is one whose office is created by the Constitution. The office of superintendent of schools is not a constitutional office. The contract of employment of a superintendent of schools is between the superintendent and the school board. Certainly, the school board should have a copy available to it. Also, any member of the public has the right to inspect the contracts of the school district, including the superintendent's employment contract.
In summary, it is the opinion of the Attorney General that the School Board of the Berea Independent School District is entitled to physically inspect the invoices, vouchers and other records which have been created by operation of the school district business and the written contract concerning the employment of the superintendent.