AGO 1996-126.

Case DateFebruary 08, 1996
CourtAlabama
Alabama Attorney General Opinions 1996. AGO 1996-126. 1996-126February 8, 1996Honorable Donald B. Sweeney, Jr. Attorney, Pell City Board of Education 1700 Financial Center 505 North Twentieth Street Birmingham, AL 35203-2607 Education, Boards of - Superintendents of Education - Public Records - EvaluationsIndividual documents reflecting the opinions of each indi- vidual board member, which are used to compile the Board's evaluation of its Superintendent, are not subject to mandatory disclosure.Dear Mr. Sweeney: This opinion is issued in response to your request for an opinion from the Attorney General. QUESTION Whether individual evaluations prepared by each member of the Pell City Board of Education as part of the annual evaluation of the superintendent are or should be considered public documents as defined by Code of Alabama 1975, _ 41-13-1 and _ 36-12-40. FACTS AND ANALYSIS The facts as presented to the Attorney General are as follows: The employment contract between the Pell City Board of Education and its Superintendent of Education requires the Board to evaluate and assess the performance of the Superintendent in writing twice a year; the individual board members prepare individual evaluations and, then, as a matter of Board policy, those evaluations are compiled and a composite score is reached which becomes the final evaluation of the Superintendent; and, finally, as a matter of Board policy, the individual evaluations are not revealed or attributed to the individual Board member as only the final evaluation is released and made public. This question arises because the Board has received a request for the evaluation forms submitted by the individual Board members. Alabama's public records law is codified at Code of Alabama 1975, _ 36-12-40: "_ 36-12-40. Rights of citizens to inspect and copy public writings; exception for public library registration and circulation records. "Every citizen has a right to inspect and take a copy of any public writing of this state, except as otherwise expressly provided by statute. . . ." The term "public records" is defined at Code of Alabama 1975, _ 41-13-1: "_ 41-13-1. Public records defined. "As used in this article, the term 'public...

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