Patch's Right-to-Know Request Denied for PR Soccer Investigation Reports

Pine-Richland Patch's Right-to-Know request to see investigation reports about Pine-Richland's soccer program and its coach, Jodi Chmielewski, has been denied.

Pine-Richland Patch plans to appeal the decision by the school district's Right-To-Know officer to withhold the reports.

Patch asked for the reports after the Pine-Richland School Board meeting Aug. 13 in which the board voted 5-2 to retain Chmielewski as its soccer coach. Supporters and opponents of the coach filled the school board's meeting room at that meeting to voice concerns about the coach and soccer program.

References to the investigations were made during that meeting.

The soccer program and coach have been a topic of discussion for some time. Parents and players had complained about Chmielewski's coaching in the past, while others had defended her.

A similar Right-to-Know request submitted by , also has been denied.

Open Records Officer Kim Kurz explained the denial of the request as follows in a letter to Pine-Richland Patch:

Your request is denied for the following reasons:

The requested record(s) constitute attorney/client privileged communications. As such it is not presumed to be a public record, consistent with Section 305 of the RTKL (Right-to-Know Law).

The requested record(s) relate to a noncriminal investigation. Such records are exempted from disclosure pursuant to Section 708(b)(17). This exception includes within its scope complaints submitted to the agency; investigative materials, notes, correspondence and reports; records that include information made confidential by law.

The requested record(s) relate to the internal pre-decisional deliberations of the agency, its elected officials, agents and employees. See Section 708(b)(10)(i)(A).

The requested record(s) relate to a communication between a local agency and its insurance carrier, administrative service organization or risk management office. See Section 708(b)(27). 

Click here to connect to the Right-to-Know law that is referenced in the denial letter.

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