Public Records Request
Hey, someone on the Rivals board (I'm too cheap to pay to post) talked about sending in a request for public records on the proceedings of the head basketball coaching search to shove it to Burman and co. for the secrecy. Well, I decided to try it out, got a response today telling me to call their represenative to finish out the request. Maybe I'll get some good information and be able to post something on here before the hire, if not at least I'll give everyone a great idea of what went on during the search and who was actually scheduled for interviews etc...!!
My only concern is that some of these coaches we could be looking at may not want their name out there as looking. We might lose a good candidate if they don't think they can discuss the opening in private and keep it out of the press. I have seen that in other professions.SLCPoke wrote:Hey, someone on the Rivals board (I'm too cheap to pay to post) talked about sending in a request for public records on the proceedings of the head basketball coaching search to shove it to Burman and co. for the secrecy. Well, I decided to try it out, got a response today telling me to call their represenative to finish out the request. Maybe I'll get some good information and be able to post something on here before the hire, if not at least I'll give everyone a great idea of what went on during the search and who was actually scheduled for interviews etc...!!
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LawPoke
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Don't be surprised to get a denial...based on the personnel exemption to the Public Records law. On the other hand, they might send you what they have, which is probably not much - especially after the Bill Ayers saga. My guess is that little to no email or other correspondence is being sent around.
ya know that's a good point, however lets be honest they probably won't get anything out until the first of the month and we should have a coach by then. even if that's the case I thought it would be interesting to see who we went after etc even if its after the fact.
Hey SLCPoke,
A couple thoughts as I may have been who originally posted about a public access request.
1. You the man. As my Mexican friend says, "You are mas macho."
2. I would think hard if you get anything about waiting to post it publicly until AFTER whoever we hire is signed and announced. I do believe there is a public good to be served by showing what is going on, but that would be accomplished just as well after the process as during it. I think Kevin McKinney and others have a legitimate point when they say some level of discretion is necessary when trying to enter a negotiation. The point that grinds on me is not that they are trying to keep things quiet, it is that they have baldly lied to the media and the fans.
3. My second point will likely be moot because I find it very unlikely that UW will get anything to you until after the search process is over.
4. I think the thing to focus on is most likely correspondence between Burman and the Parker search firm. LawPoke is surely correct in pointing out the personnel exemption. There is no such exception, however, for contractors such as Parker. And since many thousands of dollars of public money are being paid to Parker it what they are doing is highly relevant. And the meat of what is going on is truly what is being said between UW and Parker, since the whole point of a search firm is that they run interference and ask the awkward questions the principal can't or won't deal with.
In any event, nice work. And on the off chance they actually produce anything quickly please consider holding on to it until after signing day.
A couple thoughts as I may have been who originally posted about a public access request.
1. You the man. As my Mexican friend says, "You are mas macho."
2. I would think hard if you get anything about waiting to post it publicly until AFTER whoever we hire is signed and announced. I do believe there is a public good to be served by showing what is going on, but that would be accomplished just as well after the process as during it. I think Kevin McKinney and others have a legitimate point when they say some level of discretion is necessary when trying to enter a negotiation. The point that grinds on me is not that they are trying to keep things quiet, it is that they have baldly lied to the media and the fans.
3. My second point will likely be moot because I find it very unlikely that UW will get anything to you until after the search process is over.
4. I think the thing to focus on is most likely correspondence between Burman and the Parker search firm. LawPoke is surely correct in pointing out the personnel exemption. There is no such exception, however, for contractors such as Parker. And since many thousands of dollars of public money are being paid to Parker it what they are doing is highly relevant. And the meat of what is going on is truly what is being said between UW and Parker, since the whole point of a search firm is that they run interference and ask the awkward questions the principal can't or won't deal with.
In any event, nice work. And on the off chance they actually produce anything quickly please consider holding on to it until after signing day.
Request #1 will be granted, in fact I tried calling yesterday and the lady over at UW was in a meeting. However in her email she had talked about wanting to ask several questions about the request and I can only assume they may in fact ask that I hold off posting until the announcement is made. I can almost guarantee I get nothing until they've made a decision and in the email stated that phone records probably wouldn't be available until mid April. I totally understand why in the wee hours before an announcement is made that it should be kept hush hush. I will hold on to anything I get until then. However,post announcement I will release all information on the board so everyone can see as much as possible about what went down. Hopefully this all pays off to show that we are interested in Poke sports and that they shouldn't totally shut us out of searches such as this, and I expect to hear good news (Dunlap, Taylor) in the next week or so.
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LawPoke
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Having been the subject of a records request or two, I would suggest that while there might be some clerical staff that can help print off the emails, texts, etc. - the actual holder (maker/receiver) of the record has to do at least some of the initial work to find the information - as the clerical person usually doesn't have a clue what you sent, from what account, from what phone...they just don't know. It all depends on how narrowly focused the request was in the first place. If you asked for every document and other record in the athletic department and President's office about the coaching search - that is one thing. If you asked for every email and text and calendar entry from or to Tom Burman from the date of Heath's firing until today tied to the search for and hiring of a new basketball coach at the University of Wyoming - it is quite another.
I asked for documents regarding canidates from the search, not specifically every single piece of paper. As I said earlier, I'm fairly confident that nothing will be sent out prior to any decision being made which will then give our officers something to do for a day or so.