The Klamath Falls City Schools Guidelines for Public Records Request

How to Request Public Records from the District:

A request to copy a record produced by the District for general public distribution must be in writing by completing the form below and will be granted or denied in accordance with Oregon Public Records Laws. Any party requesting a fee reduction or waiver, shall fully cooperate with the District in identifying the reason(s) for the request. In order to determine whether or not the requested public records are exempt from disclosure, qualify for fee reduction or waiver, or if the documents meet the “public interest test (ORS 192.324(5)),” requesting party/parties should fully disclose their intended purposes of the request. Each request must reasonably describe the recordings being sought. This means that a request must be specific enough to permit a District staff person who is familiar with the subject matter to locate the record in a reasonable period of time. 

Fees/Procedures for Public Records Request:

1. Requesting parties shall pay the estimated cost at the time of submitting their public records request to the District. Any overpayments to the District by the requesting party will be refunded with the District’s next scheduled accounts payable processing after the non-exempt public records are disclosed to the requesting party. Deposit must accompany the Public Records Request Form, which is attached. Mail request form and deposit to: Klamath Falls City School District, Superintendent’s Executive Assistant/Board Secretary, 1336 Avalon Street, Klamath Falls, OR 97603.

2. Pursuant to ORS 192.324, the District shall provide the requesting party with an estimate, in writing, if the public records request is expected to exceed labor efforts of 30 minutes. After receiving the estimate, requesting party shall notify the District whether it wants the District to proceed with making the public records available. After providing a written estimate of the fees the requesting party must pay as a condition of receiving the records, the District may require written confirmation that the requesting party wants the District to proceed with making the public record available.

3. The District requires that the requesting party make payment to the District for the balance of the reasonable costs prior to the release of any public records. (i.e., Public records will be made available to the requesting party only upon payment in full to the District, and prior to release/disclosure of the records.) These reasonable costs shall include, but are not limited to: actual personnel costs; reproduction costs; delivery expenses; preparation and release of a condensed version of significant facts that are not otherwise exempt from disclosure (ORS 192.355(9)(b)) for public records created on or after June 20, 2007), and allowable attorneys’ fees, if any (ORS 192.324(4)(b) for reviewing, redacting or segregating the public records into exempt and nonexempt records.

4. Requesting party shall be charged for the actual cost of staff time, including fringe benefits, plus copying/delivery charges (see attached Fee Schedule). Personnel costs shall be computed on the basis of quarter hours, rounded up, for time expended by District staff and/or the District’s attorney(s).

5. The District may charge for search time even if the Custodian of the record fails to locate any records in response to the request, or even if the records located are subsequently determined to be exempt from disclosure.

6. The fee may be waived or reduced if the furnishing of the copies is determined by the District to be in the public’s best interest as set forth in ORS 192.324(5).

7. Please refer to KBA-AR. The District shall, as soon as practicable and without unreasonable delay, acknowledge a public records request and complete the response to the request. The District shall make every attempt to respond to the request within time allowed by board policy, requests shall not affect the operations of the District nor interfere with the regular discharge of the Custodian’s duties.

KFCS KBA Public Records Request Policy

KFCS KBA-AR Public Records Request Administrative Regulation

Pursuant to Oregon Revised Statutes, every person has a right to inspect any nonexempt public record.

(See Oregon Revised Statutes, Public and Private Records; Public Reports and Meetings, Chapter 192, for definitions of exempt public records.) “Public record” means any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the public’s business that is prepared, owned, used, or retained by a public body regardless of physical form or characteristics, including, but not limited to, handwriting, typewriting, printing, photographing, and every means of recording, including letters, words, pictures, sounds or symbols, or combination thereof, and all papers, maps, files, facsimiles, or electronic recordings. Inspection and copying of a public record shall be done during regular business hours at the office where the record is located, or another facility designated by the District. District records shall not leave the District premises for the purposes of public record disclosure. The District may directly supervise the inspection or copying of District records, may list records inspected or copied by or at the request of a requestor, and may contemporaneously copy for the District’s own purposes records inspected or copied by or at the request of the requestor. The District may provide a copy of a record in lieu of the original to protect the original record. The District may provide a redacted copy in lieu of an original record in order to delete exempt material.