Freedom of Access Act

FOAA Requests

The RSU 16 School Board designates the Superintendent, and to act in the absence of the Superintendent, the Assistant Superintendent/designee as the Public Access Officer.

As public school districts, we understand the commitment we have to ensure we provide community members with transparency. We embrace the opportunity to engage community members in the work of our schools and districts. Central to our work is the sharing of public records, otherwise known as FOAA or the Freedom Of Access Act.

You can CLICK HERE to view more detailed information on how this works in Maine but a general summary of the process used by the RSU 16 is outlined below:

Step 1: Communicate your request. This can be done in writing or on the phone which is transcribed into a written document by our designated public access officer. You can reach them by phone at 998-2727 or email at tsanders@rsu16.org

When communicating your request it is important to be as clear and concise as possible regarding the specific information you would like to see.

Step 2: The School Department will acknowledge receipt of the request within 5 days.

Step 3: The School Department may reach out with clarifying questions to better understand the request before fully processing.

Step 4: The School Department will communicate a sense of how long it will take to complete the request and let the individual making the request know if there may be any fees associated with the request. By law, the school may charge reasonable fees to cover the costs of copying and/or may charge $25.00/hour after the first two hours for time spent searching for, retrieving, compiling, or redacting confidential information from the requested records. If the cost is more than $30.00 the School Department will notify the individual making the request. If the cost is more than $100.00 the School Department may require payment in full for services prior to completing the request.

Step 5: Once the request is completed, the School Department will notify the individual that the information is ready to be reviewed.