Friday, November 17, 2000
Friday, November 17, 2000 |
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Settlement reached in open records suit
By JOHN
MUNFORD
A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit filed by several employees of the Fayette County Board of Education who sought to block the release of their phone numbers and addresses to the Georgia Association of Educators. Earl "Buck" Benson Jr., the attorney for the employees, said Wednesday that GAE has agreed to withdraw its open records request. After that occurs, the employees will voluntarily withdraw the lawsuit, he added. "This probably is the best and appropriate result," Benson said. The GAE had petitioned the Board of Education for "an electronic copy of all employees of the Fayette County Board of Education saved on ICSN or database with the following fields: first name, last name, address, city, zip code, telephone number, campus and position." Through its member services representative, Mark Perez, GAE also asked for "a list of new hires for 2000-2001" that included the same information. The suit claims the release of that information would violate the privacy of employees Michael Eugene Smith, Kathryn E. Corley, Carol Ann Smith, Charlene Phanco and Nancy Sheets, who brought the suit. It claimed that the addresses and telephone numbers were private information that, if released, could put them in danger of physical assault by a student or parent. The suit also claimed that the plaintiffs were afraid that they could become victims of identity theft also if the information were to be released. A hearing on the matter, which had been scheduled for Wednesday morning, was cancelled after the settlement was reached late Tuesday. Tim Callahan, a spokesman for the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, said the organization was pleased it could protect the privacy of its members. PAGE and GAE are unrelated organizations which represent teachers in Georgia. Georgia's open records laws allow that some records are not required to be disclosed if it would constitute an invasion of personal privacy.
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