Opinion
Opinion By: Gregory D. Stumbo, 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 Christian County Board of Education violated the Open Records Act in partially denying John Yarbrough's June 26, 2007, request for nonexempt records in Board employee Norris L. Adams' personnel file including Mr. Adams' resume, employment application, educational background, continuing education, salary, work experience, and references. Although the Board properly provided Mr. Yarbrough with a copy of Mr. Adams' job description, personnel actions, notice of employment, and employment contracts from 2001 to 2008, the Board improperly withheld those portions of his application reflecting prior work experience, educational qualifications, and information regarding Mr. Adams' ability to discharge the responsibilities of public employment. It is the decision of this office that 07-ORD-192, a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated by reference is directly controlling on the issues raised in this appeal. In particular, we refer the parties to the discussion found at pages five through seven of the decision. We are also obliged to emphasize that Kentucky's highest court has declared that the Open Records Act "exhibits a general bias favoring disclosure," Board of Examiners v. Courier Journal, 826 S.W.2d 324, 327 (Ky. 1992), that Kentucky's Court of Appeals' has declared that an open records analysis "does not turn on the purpose for which the request for information is made or the identity of the person making the request," Zink v. Commonwealth, 902 S.W.2d 825, 828 (Ky. App. 1994), and that the Kentucky Attorney General has determined that a request for a personnel file is sufficiently specific to trigger the agency's duty to locate, retrieve, review, and produce for inspection all nonexempt portions. 03-ORD-012, cited in 07-ORD-192. Accordingly, we find that the Christian County Board of Education violated the Open Records Act in partially denying Mr. Yarbrough's request.
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.
Distributed to:
John Yarbrough
Don AhartDirector of PersonnelChristian County SchoolsP.O. Box 609Hopkinsville, KY 42241-0609
Bob LovingoodSuperintendentChristian County Public SchoolsP.O. Box 609Hopkinsville, KY 42241-0609
Jack LackeyDeatherage, Myers, Self & Lackey701 S. Main StreetHopkinsville, KY 42240