According to a letter from John Gauntt, Temple ISD attorney, the school district does not have the information requested.
“The Temple Independent School District does not have the information which you requested in its possession,” wrote John Gauntt on behalf of board president Steve Wright. “The information you requested is in the possession of Dr. Ben Canada, associate executive director for District Services at the Texas Association of School Boards in Austin.”
Wright said Friday that the board has seen the names - they helped narrow down the list of 42 down to five - but the school district itself does not have the names on file.
“It is not in possession of that information,” Wright said. “The school board knows who they are, but the school district does not.”
Board member Susan Long said the superintendent candidates “applied through TASB and they gave hard copies of that information.”
“The applications belonged to them,” Mrs. Long said. “We publicly announced that we signed a legal agreement that we would not disclose any names.”
Board member Mary Klentzman said that she has the information, but the request was made to the district and no district employees know the names.
“We had to sign something that we would not disclose that so we wouldn’t lose candidates who are happy where they are but might consider moving to us, but they wouldn’t if their names were going to be put out,” Klentzman said. “We have that information, but no other employee has a copy of it. The names of the candidates are protected by law. We really are trying to do this in the proper manner.”
Jerry Pickle, board vice president, said he has seen the list, but even if the district had that information it is still confidential
“Obviously, yes we are the school district,” Pickle said. “We’re the governing body of the school district, but there are different functions and officers within the school district. Part of our job is to select the operational and executive leadership of the school district and that’s what the superintendent is and that’s not shared outside of the school board.”
The request was intended for the school board. Dr. Dana Marable, interim superintendent, confirmed that the board had received the request for the names of the five candidates.
“That they do have it, they are aware of it, the board president is aware of it,” Dr. Marable said. “I don’t know what they intend to do.”
Gauntt said the board does not have the power to grant the request because it is only an official governing body when it meets in a quorum.
“They only have power when they meet in an open meeting,” he said. “They do not represent the district at any other time and any other place. The open records request was sent to the school district. The school district down at the administration office is not in possession of that information.”
The matter is further complicated by the fact that Canada claims the information is the property of the search firm and not subject to the information request.
“Those applications are in our possession,” Canada said. “Those belong to us as the contracted entity. We let the school board see the applications. We take the disc and we go over them with to the district and make copies if they want them.”
He said the board agreed to a confidential search and that is what they assured each of the superintendent applicants.
“If it’s a finalist, we’d be happy to tell you right up front, But until the school board has made a decision, then it is confidential,” he said. “It’s the only way we operate unless the board decides whether or not the information will be disclosed.”
Gauntt said he believes the information does not fall under the scope of the information request because “it is in the possession of Dr. Canada who claims be an independent contractor and not subject to open records.”
Charles Daughtry, board member of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, disagrees.
“If they’ve hired somebody with taxpayer’s money to do a search, whatever is in the search firm’s hands is in the governmental body’s hands,” Daughtry said. “If they are receiving public funds for doing work with a public entity, the records they have in their possession are subject to the Public Information Act. They cannot waive the application of the open records act.”
The school board is interviewing five candidates this week and will decide who they will select for follow-up interviews.
The school district, meanwhile, has sent a request to the state attorney general for an opinion on the issue, saying that the information is exempt because it says in Section 552.126 of the state government code that candidates’ names can be kept confidential until a finalist or finalists have been named.
Gauntt said he hopes the attorney general will offer some direction in this matter.
State law requires that the board release the name of the finalists or finalists for the job 21 days before making a decision to hire.
The Temple school board will release the name of a sole finalist on April 8. The public will have 21 days to review the board’s choice of superintendent before the board votes on the hiring of that finalist on May 1.
Canada said previously that this is a common practice and it helps bring quality applicants if there is no fear of creating hurt feelings in their home school districts.
Wright agrees.
“That’s what the law permits. That’s the way we were counseled from the beginning. That’s the way we voted before there were any applicants and any resumes sent in,” Wright said. “We agreed to do a closed process, according to the search firm’s recommendation. It’s perfectly acceptable by the law.”
The Telegram has asked for the names because state law recognizes the public right to know who is being interviewed for the position of school superintendent. The state law requires school boards name their finalists or finalist for that reason.
But, Daughtry said the law gives school districts a big loophole when it comes to superintendent candidates.
“They must have the best lobbyists in the world because they have a specific exemption in the open records act that allows them to only give the name of the lone finalist,” Daughtry said. “They are allowed by law to do exactly what they’re doing.”
Mrs. Long said that without confidentiality, there would be no end to the search.
“It’s a statewide difference of opinion, but without the confidentiality we wouldn’t have five candidates. We would have no candidates because any candidate that is worth anything is employed,” Mrs. Long said. “They are not going to tell their board they want another job or are even thinking about another job. Until somebody in the state legislature changes the ruling, that’s the way it is.”
kchandler@temple-telegram.com
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