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APPEAL
FROM THE CRAWFORD COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT [NO. 17CV-17-97],
HONORABLE MICHAEL MEDLOCK, JUDGE
Lisa-Marie Norris, for appellant.
Bequette,
Billingsley & Kees, P.A., Little Rock, by: George J.
Bequette, Jr., and W. Cody Kees, for appellee.
OPINION
KENNETH
S. HIXSON, Judge
Appellant Michelle Davis appeals from a final order
dismissing her complaint in favor of appellee Van Buren
School District. On appeal, appellant contends that the
circuit court erred in ruling that the job-performance
records at issue are not subject to disclosure under the
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Arkansas Code Annotated
sections 25-19-101 through -110 (Repl. 2015). We affirm.
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I.
Relevant Facts
Appellant filed her complaint on March 2, 2017, under FOIA to
compel appellee to provide all records of the Van Buren
School District pertaining to two investigations involving
altercations that occurred between her son and two teachers
within the school district. Appellant alleged that the first
incident occurred at the Van Buren Freshman Academy on
September 14, 2015, and the second incident occurred at
Northridge Middle School on September 9, 2016. She further
alleged that it was her belief that no action was taken
against the teacher involved in the first incident but that
the teacher responsible for the second incident had been
terminated. Appellant stated that the superintendent of the
Van Buren School District, Dr. Harold Jeffcoat, refused her
FOIA request in an email stating, "The records you have
requested were generated as a result of allegations related
to the employees job performance. The District does not have
any non-exempt records responsive to your request under
FOIA." Therefore, in her complaint, appellant prayed for
a hearing, for an order requiring appellee to make available
the records she requested, and for reasonable attorneys fees
and costs.
Appellee filed its answer and affirmatively pleaded the
following:
14. Defendant affirmatively pleads the records requested by
Plaintiff constitute employee evaluation or job performance
records, which shall be open for public inspection only upon
final administrative resolution of any suspension or
termination proceeding at which the records from a basis for
the decision to suspend or terminate the employee and if
there is a compelling interest in their disclosure.
See Ark. Code Ann. § 25-19-105(c)(1).
15. Defendant affirmatively pleads the documents requested by
Plaintiff were generated as a result of allegations related
to an employees job performance, and therefore constitute a
job performance record, and they were not used in the final
administrative resolution of any suspension or termination
proceeding of the employee, and therefore they are exempt
from disclosure.
16. Defendant affirmatively states there are other compelling
public interest reasons which preclude disclosure of the
requested documents, pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
25-19-105(c)(1).
Thereafter, appellant filed a motion to compel answers to her
requests for interrogatories and production of documents. A
hearing on appellants motion to compel and on her complaint
was held on March 13, 2018.[1] Regarding appellants
complaint, the parties argued their respective positions at
the hearing. At the outset, appellant stated, "I dont
think theres really any disputed facts here. Its really
just a legal determination for the Court to make whether the
exemption that the school district is alleging is valid or
not." Appellant argued that the records are not exempt
under FOIA. Regarding records from the first incident,
appellant argued that any investigative report should not be
considered a job-performance or employee-evaluation record
because nothing was ultimately done to the employee. Instead,
she argued that any report should ...