Request By:
[NO REQUESTBY IN ORIGINAL]
Opinion
Opinion By: Albert B. Chandler III, Attorney General; Amye L. Bensenhaver, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
This matter having been presented to the Attorney General in an open records appeal, and the Attorney General being sufficiently advised, we find that the Owsley County Public Schools did not violate the Open Records Act by failing to honor Robert J. Shuman's April 5, 1999, request for a copy of Superintendent Stephen Jackson's educational transcripts. We believe that 96-ORD-64 is controlling, and particularly the statement on page 4 of that decision:
Kentucky's Open Records Law applies only to records which are in existence, and in the possession or control of a public agency. It does not impose an obligation on agencies to create, procure, or retrieve a record to accommodate a request.
The Owsley County Public Schools having affirmatively represented that Superintendent Jackson was not required to, and did not, submit a copy of his educational transcripts in the course of the hiring process, we affirm its denial of Mr. Shuman's request on the basis that the disputed record is not, and never has been, in its custody. A copy of 96-ORD-64 is attached hereto and incorporated by reference.
A party aggrieved by this decision may appeal it by initiating action in the appropriate circuit court pursuant to KRS 61.880(5) and KRS 61.882. Pursuant to KRS 61.880(3), the Attorney General should be notified of any action in circuit court, but should not be named as a party in that action or in any subsequent proceeding.