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Open Records Request

Public Records Information

The Georgia Open Records Act establishes the right to inspect and/or receive public records, excluding those records that are specifically exempted by court order or law.  To inspect and/or receive records, please email your request to the email listed below. 

Please provide:

  • Name of Person Making the Request
  • Email Address
  • Mailing Address
  • Information Requested

Please be as specific as possible.  A detailed description of the FOIA Guidelines and Procedures is listed in the link below.

Upon submission of your request, a confirmation receipt will be sent to the email address provided in the request. 

You will be notified within three (3) business days if there are records responsive to your request and if the records requested are subject to release (O.C.G.A.§ 50-18-71).  The response will be provided in written format and will be sent via email when possible.

Responses shall include the cost to search, retrieve, copy, redact, and/or supervise inspection of the requested document(s).  The cost represents the hourly wage of each employee who has the skills needed to research and prepare the records for release.

The fee for black & white, letter or legal size copies is $0.10 per page. Other types of documents are charged based upon the expense to reproduce the record.  If applicable, postage costs will be charged to the requester if documents are mailed.  Where fees for certain records are otherwise prescribed by law, such specific fees shall apply.  GCSS will notify the requester of estimated fees if applicable prior to processing the request and may defer search and retrieval of the records until the requester agrees to pay the estimated costs. 

Some records are not readily accessible.  In these instances, a timeline will be provided as to when the records will be available.

All Open Records Requests must be submitted to the email listed below.

Lizzet Flores
Executive Secretary to the Superintendent
Gainesville City School System
508 Oak Street 
Gainesville, GA 30501

email:  lizzet.flores@gcssk12.net
phone:  770-536-5275 ext. 5143

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GCSS Freedom of Information Act : 

Guidelines and Procedures 

The Georgia Inspection of Public Records Article, § 50-18-70 through § 50-18-77 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.), was established in order to make government entities throughout Georgia more open to the public. The Georgia Inspection of Public Records Article, 

§ 50-18-70 through § 50-18077 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.), is the primary state law governing citizen access to public records and entry into meetings of public bodies. 

By law, a response to requests is required within three business days of receipt of request and in this response you may expect a quote for charges and estimation of when the full response will be available. 

Your FOIA Rights 

● You have the right to request to inspect or receive copies of public records or both. ● You have the right to request that any charges for the requested records be estimated in advance. 

● If you believe that your FOIA rights have been violated, you may file a petition in District or Circuit Court to compel compliance with FOIA. 

O.C.G.A § 50-18-70 through § 50-18-77 requires that public records be made available to citizens and the media for copying and/or inspection. FOIA refers to records that are in existence and does not require that Gainesville City Schools create records. GCSS may abstract and summarize records, by agreement with the requestor. 

Nature of the Request 

Requests to inspect or copy electronic messages, whether in the form of e-mail, text message, or other format, should contain information about the messages that is presented reasonably to allow GCSS to locate the messages sought, including, if known, the name, title, or office of the 

specific person or persons whose electronic messages are sought and, to the extent possible, the specific data bases to be searched for such messages.

Charges 

FOIA makes provisions for local government agencies to charge for requested records, yet charging for records is not mandatory. GCSS makes reasonable charges for the actual costs incurred in accessing, duplicating, supplying, or searching for requested records. Charges must be fair and may not include extraneous or surplus fees unrelated to the production of the records. It is the goal of GCSS to keep production costs as low as possible. 

Citizens and members of the media may request an estimate of the cost of supplying the requested records in advance of the staff searching for and duplicating the records. 

GCSS charges for the following: 

● Labor — GCSS can charge for staff time used to search for, duplicate, and redact records. The rate will reflect the hourly wage of each employee who has the skills needed to research and prepare the records for release. 

● Copies — FOIA allows that copying charges be incurred by the requestor. GCSS charges 10 cents per page of copied documents. 

● Postage — FOIA allows that postage charges be incurred by the requestor. 

If estimate is over $200 — An estimate of charges will be explained to the requestor prior to staff starting the FOIA request response. 

Whenever any person has requested to inspect or copy a public record and does not pay the cost for search, retrieval, redaction, or copying of such records, and the GCSS has incurred the agreed-upon costs to make the records available, regardless of whether the requester inspects or accepts copies of the records, GCSS is authorized by O.C.G.A. O.C.G.A § 50-18-70 through § 50-18-77 to collect such charges. 

In any instance in which GCSS will seek costs in excess of $25.00 for responding to a request, GCSS will notify the requester and inform the requester of the estimate of the costs, and the GCSS may defer search and retrieval of the records until the requester agrees to pay the estimated costs. 

In any instance in which the estimated costs for production of the records exceeds $500.00, GCSS may insist on prepayment of the costs prior to beginning search, retrieval, review, or production of the records. Whenever any person who has requested to inspect or copy a public record has not paid the cost for search, retrieval, redaction, or copying of such records, GCSS may require prepayment for compliance with all future requests for production of records from that person until the costs for the prior production of records have been paid or the dispute regarding payment resolved.