The Pennsylvania Right to Know Act is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of governmental bodies in Pennsylvania. The new Right to Know or Open Records Law (Act 3 of 2008) took effect on January 1, 2009. This law presumes that all documents of all governmental bodies will be presumed to be open to the public unless the agency holding them can prove otherwise.
The Deer Lakes Board of School Directors recognizes the importance of public records as the record of the district's actions and the repository of information about this district. Public records of Deer Lakes School District are available for access and duplication in accordance with law and Deer Lakes Board Policy.
Procedures for Submitting a Request
1. Requests for access to public records of Deer Lakes School District must be submitted on Pennsylvania Office of Open Records Right-to-Know Request Form, a copy of which may be found on the District's website at www.deerlakes.net. They are found in two versions:
Right-to-Know Form:
- PDF version (.pdf)
- Word document version (.doc)
2. Each request must include the following information:
- Identification or description of the requested record, in sufficient detail.
- Medium in which the record is requested.
- Name and address of the person to receive the district's response.
3. Request forms may be submitted in person at the Deer Lakes School District's Administrative Offices, or via fax, mail or email.
Request forms must be submitted to the attention of Deer Lakes Open Records Office, as follows:
DLSD Open Records Officer
Mr. Dennis Thimons, Business Manager
P. O. Box 10, 17 East Union Road,
Cheswick, PA 15024
Phone: 724-265-5300, Ext. 1216
Fax: 724-265-5025
Email: dthimons@dlsd.k12.pa.us
Additional information concerning Fee Structure may be found on the District website at www.deerlakes.net under Right to Know in the key to the left of the home page.
The Right-to-Know Law may be obtained from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Office of Open Records:
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Office of Open Records
Commonwealth Keystone Building
400 North Street, Plaza Level
Harrisburg, PA 17120-0225
Phone: 717-346-9903
Email: openrecords@state.pa.us
Website: http://openrecords.state.pa.us
Executive Director: Terry Mutchler
Deputy Director: Nathanael Byerly
Chief Counsel: Dena Lefkowitz
Record Type |
Fee |
| Copies (A "photocopy" is either a single-sided copy of one side of a double-sided black- and-white copy of a standard 8.5" x 11" page) | $.25 per page |
| Certification of a Record | $1 per record, not per page. Please note that certification fees do no include notarization fees. |
| Specialized documents: For example, but not limited to, blue prints, color Copies, non-standard sized documents | Actual Cost |
| Facsimile/Microfiche/Other Media: | Actual Cost |
| Redaction Fee: | No redaction fee may be imposed. |
| Conversion to Paper: | If a record is only maintained electronically or in other non-paper media, duplication fees shall be limited to the lesser of the fee for duplication on paper or the fee for duplication in the original media unless the requester specifically requests for the record to be duplicated in the more expensive medium. (Sec. 1307(e)). |
| Postage Fees: | Fees for postage may not exceed the actual cost of mailing. |