In 2011, Jason Reed, Maria Dorsey, and several other

individuals requested documents relating to the now-defunct HipHop program which had been taught by Mr. Reed. After a diligent
search, the District granted access to all of the documents
relating to the program that its Open Records Officer found with
the exception of certain emails that were protected by the
attorney-client privilege.
Reed and Dorsey appealed to the
Pennsylvania Office of Open Records. The Office of Open Records
required the District to produce the protected emails. The District
appealed this decision to the Court of Common Pleas of Franklin
County. The Court held that the District properly withheld the
emails on the basis of attorney client privilege. Reed and Dorsey
appealed to the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court. The case
was remanded to the Court of Common Pleas on two separate
occasions.
While this matter was ongoing, the District found additional
documents responsive to the Reed and Dorsey requests. The
District provided these documents immediately upon discovery.
The District notified the Court of Common Pleas, the Pennsylvania
Office of Open Records, and the Public Opinion about the
discovery of these documents.
The case is currently on remand from the Commonwealth
Court for a determination as to whether the District performed a
good faith search for records in response to Reed and Dorseys
initial right to know requests. Judge Zook will hold a hearing
regarding this issue in the future.
Reed and Dorseys attorneys, Jack Sharpe, Esq. and Mary
Powell, Esq., continue to seek attorneys fees and a civil penalty
against the District despite the fact that Reed and Dorsey have
had possession of the documents for over two years and the fact
that the Commonwealth Court has held that monetary damages
pursuant to the Right to Know Law are unavailable to them as a
matter of law.