Opinion
Opinion By: Chris Gorman, Attorney General; Amye B. Majors, Assistant Attorney General
OPEN RECORDS DECISION
This matter comes to the Attorney General on appeal from the Jefferson County Public Schools' partial denial of Courier-Journal reporter, David McGinty's, July 27, 1992, request to inspect certain documents in the Public Schools' custody. The disputed documents are identified as "the annual Jefferson County Board of Education performance evaluations of Supt. Donald Ingwerson."
In a letter dated July 30, 1992, Ms. Lauren E. Melton, Public Information Officer for the Jefferson County Public Schools, partially denied Mr. McGinty's request. Relying on KRS 61.878(1)(a), she maintained that "performance evaluations of any Jefferson County Board of Education employee are not subject to inspection."
On behalf of his client, The Courier-Journal, Mr. Jon L. Fleischaker appealed to the Attorney General, pursuant to KRS 61.880(2), the Jefferson County Public Schools' partial denial of Mr. McGinty's request. Citing the Kentucky Supreme Court recent decision in University of Kentucky v. The Courier-Journal and Louisville Times Co., Ky., 830 S.W.2d 373 (1992), Mr. Fleischaker argues that the right of privacy, which is recognized at KRS 61.878(1)(a), does not prohibit publication of a matter which is of public interest, including "the performance evaluation of a high-ranking official such as Jefferson County Superintendent of Schools Donald Ingwerson." (Emphasis in original.)
In 92-ORD-1145, a companion appeal, this Office took the position that the public's interest in the disclosure of a school superintendent's performance evaluation, to the extent that the information contained therein relates to his supervision of the school system, outweighs the superintendent's privacy interests. We concluded that although the school system could redact any material in the evaluation which could be said to constitute information of a personal nature, it was required to release the evaluation. Based on the reasoning in Kentucky Board of Examiners of Psychologists v. The Courier-Journal and Louisville Times Company, Ky., 826 S.W.2d 324 (1992), we held that disclosure of the school superintendent's performance evaluation would serve the public's interest in knowing whether its agencies are properly executing their statutory functions and its public servants are serving the public. We declined, however, to extend this reasoning to the performance evaluations of other public employees.
We believe 92-ORD-1145, a copy of which is attached, is controlling. Pursuant to KRS 61.880(2), we have repeatedly requested, but have not been provided with, copies of the Superintendent's performance evaluation. We are therefore forced to render a decision without benefit of perusing the disputed documents. We must assume that the evaluations at issue in this appeal are similar to the evaluation at issue in 92-ORD-1145, and that the rule announced in that decision is equally dispositive of this appeal. The Jefferson Count Public Schools are directed to release the Board of Education's performance evaluations of Superintendent Donald Ingwerson forthwith, but may redact any information in the evaluation which is deemed to be of a purely personal character.
Mr. Fleischaker and the Jefferson County Public Schools may challenge this decision by initiating action in the appropriate circuit court pursuant to KRS 61.880(5) and KRS 61.882.