The board shall designate a Freedom of Information Officer with the authority to establish and maintain a system of records in accordance with the Kansas Open Records Act and may assign other college employees to handle requests for records and to serve as custodians of records. The custodian shall prominently display and distribute or otherwise make available to the public a brochure in the form prescribed by the local Freedom of Information Officer.
All college records shall be kept for at least the minimum length of time required by law. The Board Clerk is designated as the Freedom of Information Officer and the official custodian of all board records maintained by the college; the vice president for finance and operations is designated as the official custodian of all financial records; the registrar is designated as the official custodian of all student records; and the personnel director is designated as the official custodian of all personnel records.
A public record means any recorded information, regardless of form or characteristics which is made, maintained or kept by or is in the possession of the college, including those exhibited at public board meetings. Records maintained shall include, but not be limited to, the following: financial, personnel, property, student records. All records except those subject to exception by the Kansas Open Records Act shall be open to inspection by the general public during regular office hours of the college, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The president will establish procedures for making records available on normal business days when the college offices are closed. All public records will be housed at the college located at 348 N.E. State Road 61, Pratt, KS 67124.
Requests for access to open records shall be made in writing to an official custodian of college records. The official custodian shall examine each request to determine whether the record requested is an open record or is subject to an exception by the Kansas Open Records Act. The custodian shall either grant or deny the request. If the request is not granted, the person requesting the record shall receive a written explanation of the reason for the denial within three days of the request. If the requester disagrees with the explanation, the freedom of information officer shall settle the dispute.
To the extent possible, requests for access to records shall be acted on immediately. If the request is not acted on immediately, the custodian shall inform the requester of when and where the open record will be made available. A response of receipt of the request will be made within three business days.
Whenever possible, the record shall be made available within three business days of the request. Each custodian shall file all requests and their dispositions in the appropriate office and make reports as requested by the president or the board.
A fee will be charged for copies of records and shall include all expenses associated with finding, retrieving and reproducing the requested records. Advance payment of the expense of copying open records shall be borne by the individual requesting the copy. Under no circumstances shall the documents be allowed out of their usual location without approval of the official custodian. Revenue from copying open records will be deposited in the college’s general fund.
Revision Dates: 12-16-2019, 09-17-2009
