Dennis Lab Schools were closed on May 31st, 2023 due to structural concerns, which were analyzed the previous day by Bacon Farmer Workman Engineering & Testing, Inc.
On June 1st, I submitted a FOIA request for documents, emails, and other communications that might reveal more information than what was shared by the District.
These documents have been previously reported on, in part, at DPS61 Misled You and Avoided Questions.
This FOIA Request is being re-published in accordance with our newly adopted FOIA Request Procedures, primarily for archival purposes.
We may, at a later time, catalogue and update this article with noteable facts from the documents below. We have sent several subsequent FOIA requests to collect more information.
Request Details
Purpose: To investigate circumstances surrounding the closure of the Dennis Lab Schools.
To: Decatur Public Schools District 61, Melissa Bradford MBradford@dps61.org
Fact Sheet Name: 2023-06-Dennis-Closure
Timeline
- Sent: June 1, 2023
- Response: June 8, 2023
Notes
- Request was initially submitted as a commercial request, but I sent a follow-up email correcting that after talking to the Public Access Counselor.
Documents
- FOIA Request Email - Email Thread of request/response
- FOIA Response Letter - the PDF Response letter
- Communications between Admins and Others - Emails between Buildings & Grounds Director Kent Metzger and Phillip Holthaus with Bacon Farmer Workman Engineering & Testing, Inc. There are several failed attempts to schedule an inspection, until a May 30th inspection was successfully scheduled.
- Communications with Media - Emails between members of the Media and Communications Officer Denise Swarthout.
- FOIA from Valerie Wells - a FOIA Request from Herald & Review's Valerie Wells for the structural engineering report, information about the engineering firms, and emails mentioning building integrity concerns. Does not include the response to Valerie's request.
Request
A recent Herald & Review article about Dennis School states:
"District spokeswoman Denise Swarthout said the district had contacted a structural engineer in the spring to look at the buildings, both because the district already knew there were issues and because administrators and staff had voiced concerns, but Tuesday was the first opening in that engineer's schedule to examine the buildings."
I'd like a copy of all communications and documents regarding the issues with the buildings. These should include:
- Any documented finding that the district "already knew there were issues"
- Any communications from administrators and staff voicing their concerns
- Any communications with engineers / engineering firms to schedule an examination, including the engineer who did the assessment and any others that were sought
- Any documentation showing that the engineer's first opening was Tuesday
- Any prior assessments of the buildings' structural stability
- The full content of any communications (including FOIA requests) with Herald & Review, WAND, or other media organization or the public about this.