Campus News planned to write about retiring staff members to honor their service to ELAC in a special edition of the newspaper,but was denied the list of retirees.
The ELAC Academic Senate said during a meeting on Tuesday that it had also been denied the
information.
This is also unfortunate because retirees are usually honored with a crystal apple as a token of appreciation for their services. Without the information, this small gesture could be delayed.
Instead of interviewing, writing and taking photos of faculty members for the issue, Campus News staff spent over a week calling the departments asking for names of retirees.
This resulted in a short list of retiring faculty members and a handful of stories about them.
ELAC President Marvin Martinez and his office denied the release of the information,
claiming that it is an employee privacy issue and not for public knowledge. Their reason did not cite specific statutory exemptions in the California Public Records or any other law.
This is an ultimate act of disrespect toward the ELAC community, especially when many have helped shape the futures of its students and the culture that the school is known for.
It is only right that retirees are shown the utmost respect and gratitude from the school they served.
As a result of Martinez and his office’s uncooperativeness , Campus News filed a Freedom of Information Act request for information .
On Monday, the request for the information was denied by the Los Angeles Community College District’s Office of General Counsel in an email sent by paralegal Jeffrey A. Greenman.
According to Nikki Moore, a California Newspaper Publisher Association lawyer, and Frank LoMonte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center, their refusal to release the information is illegal.
LoMonte said the agency’s preference not to discuss the matter does not excuse compliance with the law.
The law clearly states that the compensation of public employees is a matter of public record, he added.
Campus News is not seeking information that violates the privacy of the retirees.
Rather, it is public information that should be used in recognizing ELAC’s employees.
Below are the faculty Campus News has been told are retiring.
Dennis Sanchez; Sharon
Allerson; Jane Kerford; Rhonda
Wiley; Lily Chang; Mary Eckhert;
Michael Owens; Eldin Onsgard;
Kiff Kimber; Edwin Howard; Alex
Immerblum; Christine Rodriguez;
Aida Caballes; Consuelo Rey
Castro; Robert Lipscomb; Rebecca
Hsiao; Martha Gayton; and Michael
Kaznetsis.
If you are or are not retiring this year, please contact Campus News at: (323) 265-8819 or elaccampusnews@gmail.com