From: ‘William Reinhard -MSDE’
Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2017 5:04 PM
To: ‘J.H. Snider’
Subject: Re: Public Information Act request
Good Afternoon Mr. Snider-
You recently emailed MSDE with a second follow-up set of questions posed under the Maryland Public Information Act, in search of additional information regarding its annual salary report.
The following answers to your questions are responsive to your request.
- MSDE defines the standard work week as 40 hours, but some school districts have a standard work week for teachers that is less than 40 hours. For example, the contractually negotiated work week in Anne Arundel County for ten-month teachers is 37.5 hours. I request the document MSDE uses that specifies in detail how FTEs are to be calculated for all teachers; for example, that specifies that a 37.5 hour/week employee can be treated as a 40 hour/week employee for purposes of calculating FTEs and that specifies that a full-time ten-month and twelve-month teacher will both be treated as a 1.0 FTE.
No additional documentation is available other than the definition previously provided.
- I request links to the audits MSDE has done, if any, on the salary data LEAs have provided to MSDE from FY2007 through FY2016. If no audits have been done, please respond “none.”
None
- To my request for “a description of the procedures used to detect and punish local school districts that provide incorrect actual and average salary data,” you replied “no penalties.” Am I correct to infer from this response that MSDE has no such description of procedures independent of an actual audit? If not, I request a copy of the written procedure.
You are correct. Local systems provide us with information they deem to be correct.
- In response to my two Public Information Act requests, you provided me with a clear and simple operational definition of “mid-level salaries,” but I haven’t seen any written documentary definition. Am I correct to infer that MSDE has not provided LEA’s with a definition in the form of a written document? If not, I request documentation to LEAs that specifies how “mid-level salary” is defined.
No additional documentation other than the definition previously provided.
- In Excel or other machine-readable format, I request all salary data, including any accompanying annotations, submitted to MSDE’s Web Data Collection System (WDCS) by the Anne Arundel County LEA from FY2012 to FY2016. It’s my understanding that because this is aggregate data, the files will be tiny.
Data published is as provided by LEAs.
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
- In Excel or other machine-readable format, I request all teacher retention data, including any accompanying annotations, submitted to MSDE’s Web Data Collection System (WDCS) by the Anne Arundel County LEA from FY2012 to FY2016. It’s my understanding that because this is aggregate data, the files will be tiny.
No current report exists for this information and would require several days to create. As this request is LEA specific, please make inquiry to Anne Arundel County.
Retention and attrition data is currently published here:
Sincerly,
William Reinhard
Public Information Officer
From: ‘William Reinhard -MSDE’
Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2017 2:01 PM
To: ‘J.H. Snider’
Subject: Re: Public Information Act request
My apologies, Mr. Snider, I received info for you during the holiday break. You’ll have it this week.
Bill Reinhard
On Wed, Jan 4, 2017 at 1:53 PM, J.H. Snider wrote:
Dear Mr. Reinhard:
Thank you again for your reply to my November 15, 2016 Public Information Act request.
Please update me on your plans for fulfilling my December 16, 2016 Public Information Act request. Maryland’s Public Information Act specifies a ten-day reply period.
Sincerely,
J.H. Snider, President
iSolon.org
On Fri, Dec 16, 2016 at 3:51 PM, J.H. Snider wrote:
Dear Mr. Reinhard:
Thank you for your timely reply to my November 15, 2016 Public Information Act request regarding LEA staff compensation statistics. Your links to supporting documents have been especially helpful.
To help me better understand the nature of the provided information, I am requesting the following clarifying documents under the Maryland Public Information Act, State Government Article (SG) §§ 10-611, et seq:
- MSDE defines the standard work week as 40 hours, but some school districts have a standard work week for teachers that is less than 40 hours. For example, the contractually negotiated work week in Anne Arundel County for ten-month teachers is 37.5 hours. I request the document MSDE uses that specifies in detail how FTEs are to be calculated for all teachers; for example, that specifies that a 37.5 hour/week employee can be treated as a 40 hour/week employee for purposes of calculating FTEs and that specifies that a full-time ten-month and twelve-month teacher will both be treated as a 1.0 FTE.
- I request links to the audits MSDE has done, if any, on the salary data LEAs have provided to MSDE from FY2007 through FY2016. If no audits have been done, please respond “none.”
- To my request for “a description of the procedures used to detect and punish local school districts that provide incorrect actual and average salary data,” you replied “no penalties.” Am I correct to infer from this response that MSDE has no such description of procedures independent of an actual audit? If not, I request a copy of the written procedure.
- In response to my two Public Information Act requests, you provided me with a clear and simple operational definition of “mid-level salaries,” but I haven’t seen any written documentary definition. Am I correct to infer that MSDE has not provided LEA’s with a definition in the form of a written document? If not, I request documentation to LEAs that specifies how “mid-level salary” is defined.
- In Excel or other machine-readable format, I request all salary data, including any accompanying annotations, submitted to MSDE’s Web Data Collection System (WDCS) by the Anne Arundel County LEA from FY2012 to FY2016. It’s my understanding that because this is aggregate data, the files will be tiny.
- In Excel or other machine-readable format, I request all teacher retention data, including any accompanying annotations, submitted to MSDE’s Web Data Collection System (WDCS) by the Anne Arundel County LEA from FY2012 to FY2016. It’s my understanding that because this is aggregate data, the files will be tiny.
I request that all the information be emailed to me in an electronic format (i.e., no paper copies). I also request that where an electronic document exists in a machine-readable format such as an Excel spreadsheet or Word document, it be provided in that format rather than scanned in an unsearchable format such as a pdf.
If fulfilling this Public Information Act request is expected to take more than 2 hours, then starting with 1) and moving down the list for any item above the two-hour free limit, the item should be costed out separately in your response to me. In addition, in the unlikely event that any information cannot be provided to me in an electronic format, it should also be costed out separately (i.e., above the first 50 free copies).
If you expect to spend more than two hours fulfilling this Public Information Act request, I request a public interest fee waiver. Approximately 80% of local public school budgets in Maryland is allocated to employee compensation. MSDE statistics about average compensation is routinely published in Maryland newspapers. It is in the best interests of the public that it understands the methodology behind those statistics. I expect to report my findings in one of the Maryland-related newspapers for which I have often written, including the Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, or Education Week.
I look forward to your response within the ten days required by law.
Sincerely,
J.H. Snider, President
iSolon.org
From: ‘William Reinhard -MSDE’
Sent: Thursday, December 08, 2016 5:45 PM
To: ‘J.H. Snider’
Subject: Re: Public Information Act request
Good Afternoon Mr. Snider:
You followed up your original Public Information Act request with a second request. The following is an attempt to answer each question you have asked.
Much of what you are requesting is not available at MSDE. For that information you will have to contact local school system.
The original request referenced page 13 of the Maryland State Department of Education Fact Book: 2014-2015). These salaries are self-reported by LEAs. Salary scales for teachers are uploaded in a text file. The submission window closes on or around September 15th of each year. These salaries are not calculated or manipulated in any way by MSDE. Salaries are compiled and reported in the Professional Salary Schedules publication.
The second request referenced page 12 of the Maryland State Department of Education Fact Book: 2014-2015). The salaries that are used to calculate the average salaries are reported by LEAs to MSDE. The submission window closes on or around November 15th of each year. The average salaries on the table referenced on page 12 are calculated and based on the salary and FTE information as provided by each LEA. Teachers as identified on page 12 of the Fact Book include classroom and other teachers, therapists, librarians, guidance counselors, and school psychologists. Additional information reported in the Analysis of Professional Salaries publication.
1) The detailed methodology MSDE used to calculate the “Mid-Level Salaries” as you have defined it in your response to 1) in my November 3, 2016 Public Information Act request.
Mid-Level Salaries on page 13 are not calculated. See step 11 on pages 9 and 11 in the Professional Salary Schedules publication. Mid-Level Salaries are determined and managed by each LEA.
2) The detailed methodology MSDE used to calculate the “Average Salaries for Instructional Positions in Public schools: 2014-2015 (page 12 of the Maryland State Department of Education Fact Book: 2014-2015). This should clarify whether “average salary” and “mid-level salary” are defined as synonyms.
See the introduction page in the Analysis of Professional Salaries publication, referenced above.
Introduction: The tables in this report were prepared from the data submitted by the 24 Maryland public school systems in the fall of 2015. Salaries include annual pay for 10, 11, and 12 month full-time and part-time employees in the positions shown. All data reported reflect the conversion of part-time employees to full-time equivalents.
Calculations: The average (mean) salaries are computed by dividing the sum of the individuals’ salaries by the sum of the full-time-equivalent positions. The value of the means may be distorted by extremely high or low salaries in the distribution and so may not provide an accurate estimate of population averages. Therefore, medians (middle values) are also provided as estimates of typical salaries. The median represents the salary that divides the group in half. The first and third quartiles are provided as an estimation of the distribution of salaries across groups. Quartiles represent a division point similar to the median. The first quartile indicates the salary below which twenty-five percent of salaries fall while the third quartile represents the point above which twenty-five percent of salaries fall.
3) The detailed methodology MSDE provided to local public schools to generate the data described in 2) above. For example, it should clarify whether National Board Certification is included in the average salary statistic; it should include deadlines for the submission of data (vital information not included in the manual provided in response to my November 3, 2016 Public Information Act request); and it should include guidance, if any exists, regarding how to calculate negotiated salary schedules that change mid-year or at any time other than the start of a given fiscal year.
Each LEA manages salary information for staff. MSDE requests the information as follows:
Report annual salaries for the 2015-2016 school year, including bonuses, stipends, etc. Report the portion of the annual salary for each part of the position to the nearest dollar. For staff who have multiple records (one Type I and one or more Type II records), the parts of the salary must add up to the total salary. (Not for staff who resigned or left the school system on or after October 16, 2014.)
Note: MSDE does not provide clarification or guidance in regards to specific bonuses or stipends to include in the salary information provided to MSDE. Each LEA manages salary information and MSDE reports as provided by the LEAs.
4) Any explanation why some teachers and pay codes/categories are not included in the data described in 2) and 3) above (e.g., why non-ten-month teachers and FTEs less than 1.0 aren’t normalized for statistical purposes as ten-month teachers). For example, when I have normalized less than 1.0 FTE “teachers” (defined as employees covered by the teachers’ contract), I have gotten results (e.g., normalized salaries over $200,000/year) that are well outside the minimum and maximum range of any Maryland public school system salary scale.
Information reported by MSDE is based on information as provided by the LEAs as noted. See the introduction page in the Analysis of Professional Salaries publication and Response to Question 2.
5) A list of all the database fields relating to average teacher compensation that MSDE gathers from local public school districts. Any abbreviations for field names should be accompanied by a description of the field in standard written English (e.g., without inscrutable abbreviations). The manual that was provided to me (p. 3) only includes the following instructions regarding the reporting of “actual salary”: “Please do not include fringe benefits, bonuses, etc.” I presume (perhaps incorrectly) that “actual salaries” for ten-month teachers are used to calculate their “average salary.” But if the “mid-level” method described above is used, that would be an incorrect presumption.
The information used to calculate average teacher compensation is as provided by the LEAs. The two fields that are used are:
- Salary
Data definition provided to LEAs: Report annual salaries for the 2015-2016 school year, including bonuses, stipends, etc. Report the portion of the annual salary for each part of the position to the nearest dollar. For staff who have multiple records the parts of the salary must add up to the total salary. (Not for staff who resigned or left the school system on or after October 16, 2014.)
- Full-Time Equivalency
Data definition provided to LEAs: The four-digit FTE code (expressed to three decimal points) computed on the basis of a standard work week (40 hours).
Example:
Full-Time (40 hours/week – all assignments together) Report FTE as 1000
Half-Time (20 hours/week – all assignments together) Report FTE as 0500
¼ Time (10 hours/week – all assignments together) Report FTE as 0250
As noted in the introduction page in the Analysis of Professional Salaries publication, all data reported reflect the conversion of part-time employees to full-time equivalents.
6) The precise formulas MSDE uses to calculate average salary from salary-related fields (e.g., from specific pay codes/categories, FTEs, and leave accumulations that can be converted into salary).
The information used to calculate average teacher compensation is as provided by the LEAs.
See the introduction page in the Analysis of Professional Salaries publication and Response to Question 2.
7) The description provided to local school districts of the average compensation related data accessible to at least one local public school district officer but behind MSDE’s firewall (i.e., that requires a user to login to access the information).
Information is submitted electronically by LEAs in MSDE’s Web Data Collection System (WDCS). Each LEA has access to view the information as submitted to MSDE.
8) A description of the procedures used to detect and penalize local school districts that provide incorrect actual and average salary data.
No penalties.
9) The manual MSDE data operators use to manage the local public school average compensation data provided by local Maryland public school districts. I’m presuming that such a manual exists (or other written materials) because the manual provided in response to my November 3, 2016 Public Information Act request lacked instructions relating to average salaries.
Each LEA manages the local public school compensation information. Each LEA calculates Salary and FTE and reports to MSDE. The average compensation data is based on the salary and FTE record as provided by each LEA.
We hope this has clarified for you how these publications are put together.
Sincerely,
Bill Reinhard
| Bill Reinhard Director of Communications Maryland State Dept. of Education 200 W. Baltimore Street Baltimore, Maryland 21201 william.reinhard@maryland.gov 410-767-0486 (office) 410-241-7108 (cell) Follow MSDE on Twitter @MdPublicSchools and join us on Facebook at MdPublicSchools |
From: ‘William Reinhard -MSDE’
Sent: Tuesday, November 29, 2016 1:45 PM
To: ‘J.H. Snider’
Subject: Re: Public Information Act request
It is in process, Mr. Snider.
Bill Reinhard
On Tue, Nov 29, 2016 at 1:28 PM, ‘J.H. Snider’ wrote:
Dear Mr. Reinhard:
Thank you again for your timely reply to my November 3, 2016 Public Information Act request.
Please update me on your plans for fulfilling my November 15, 2016 Public Information Act request. Maryland’s Public Information Act specifies a ten-day reply period.
Sincerely,
J.H. Snider, President
iSolon.org
From: ‘J.H. Snider’
Sent: Tuesday, November 15, 2016 3:34 PM
To: ‘William Reinhard -MSDE’
Subject: Public Information Act request
Dear Mr. Reinhard:
Thank you for your prompt reply to my November 3, 2016 Maryland Public Information Act request.
I have questions regarding some of your responses:
1) The detailed methodology MSDE used to calculate the “Salary Range for Ten-Month Teachers in Public School: 2014-2015 (page 13 of the Maryland State Department of Education Fact Book: 2014-2015);
Reinhard: MSDE does not calculate the salaries for this report. LEAs self-report salary scales for ten-month teachers. “Beginning” salaries are the salaries on Step 1 of the Bachelor’s salary scale (User Manual, page 5), “Mid-level” salaries are the salaries on Step 11 of the Master’s salary scale (User Manual, page 5), “Maximum” is the maximum Doctorate salary (User Manual, page 3).
Snider: Beginning and Maximum Salaries: If I understand you correctly, the statistics for “beginning salaries” and “maximum salaries” do not include all pay codes related to salary, just the pay code relating to a 1.0 FTE position on the salary grid for ten-month teachers. For example, in my Maryland county that would mean that only one of 70+ pay codes would be included in the definition of “beginning salary” or “maximum salary.”
Mid-Level Salaries: Are you saying that “average salary” as defined, say, on page 12 of the of the Maryland State Department of Education Fact Book: 2014-2015, actually means “mid-level salary” as you have defined it above? Also, there was no definition of “mid-level” salary on page 5 of the attached manual. Please send me the document that is the source of the information to which you refer in your reply.
Maximum Salaries: There is no explanation in the manual why maximum teacher salary is defined as the top position on the salary schedule but other maximum salaries (p. 3) appear to be defined based on actual salary. There is also no definition for “actual salary” except for the following cryptic note that appears to me to provide virtually no useful information regarding the 70+ pay codes that some districts use to calculate pay: “Please do not include fringe benefits, bonuses, etc.” If such written information exists, please provide a) a precise definition of “actual salary,” and b) a justification for using two fundamentally different methods (one based on actual salary and the other a salary schedule) for calculating maximum salary.
2) The detailed methodology MSDE provided to local public schools to generate the data described in 1) above;
Reinhard: See 1 above.
Snider: As noted above, the manual provided in response to my November 3, 2016 Public Information Act request was missing the cited information regarding how “mid-level” salaries were calculated.
4) A list of all the database fields relating to teacher compensation and reimbursements that MSDE gathers from local public school districts. Any abbreviations for field names should be accompanied by a description of the field in standard written English (e.g., without inscrutable abbreviations);
Reinhard: See pages 3 and 4 in the User Manual.
Snider: If I understand your response correctly, MSDE collects no information relating to what the provided manual describes as “fringe benefits, bonuses, etc.” and what I would describe as all non-salary schedule pay codes plus insurance and pension benefits; that is, all the well-defined forms of compensation negotiated in compensation contracts with school employees except, say, in the case of “teachers,” the relevant teacher salary scale for 1.0 FTE ten-month teachers.
* * *
Given the lack of information regarding how MSDE defines “average salaries” in response to my November 3, 2016 Public Information Act request, I am requesting the following documents under the Maryland Public Information Act, State Government Article (SG) §§ 10-611, et seq:
- The detailed methodology MSDE used to calculate the “Mid-Level Salaries” as you have defined it in your response to 1) in my November 3, 2016 Public Information Act request.
- The detailed methodology MSDE used to calculate the “Average Salaries for Instructional Positions in Public schools: 2014-2015 (page 12 of the Maryland State Department of Education Fact Book: 2014-2015). This should clarify whether “average salary” and “mid-level salary” are defined as synonyms.
- The detailed methodology MSDE provided to local public schools to generate the data described in 2) above. For example, it should clarify whether National Board Certification is included in the average salary statistic; it should include deadlines for the submission of data (vital information not included in the manual provided in response to my November 3, 2016 Public Information Act request); and it should include guidance, if any exists, regarding how to calculate negotiated salary schedules that change mid-year or at any time other than the start of a given fiscal year.
- Any explanation why some teachers and pay codes/categories are not included in the data described in 2) and 3) above (e.g., why non-ten-month teachers and FTEs less than 1.0 aren’t normalized for statistical purposes as ten-month teachers). For example, when I have normalized less than 1.0 FTE “teachers” (defined as employees covered by the teachers’ contract), I have gotten results (e.g., normalized salaries over $200,000/year) that are well outside the minimum and maximum range of any Maryland public school system salary scale.
- A list of all the database fields relating to average teacher compensation that MSDE gathers from local public school districts. Any abbreviations for field names should be accompanied by a description of the field in standard written English (e.g., without inscrutable abbreviations). The manual that was provided to me (p. 3) only includes the following instructions regarding the reporting of “actual salary”: “Please do not include fringe benefits, bonuses, etc.” I presume (perhaps incorrectly) that “actual salaries” for ten-month teachers are used to calculate their “average salary.” But if the “mid-level” method described above is used, that would be an incorrect presumption.
- The precise formulas MSDE uses to calculate average salary from salary-related fields (e.g., from specific pay codes/categories, FTEs, and leave accumulations that can be converted into salary).
- The description provided to local school districts of the average compensation related data accessible to at least one local public school district officer but behind MSDE’s firewall (i.e., that requires a user to login to access the information).
- A description of the procedures used to detect and penalize local school districts that provide incorrect actual and average salary data.
- The manual MSDE data operators use to manage the local public school average compensation data provided by local Maryland public school districts. I’m presuming that such a manual exists (or other written materials) because the manual provided in response to my November 3, 2016 Public Information Act request lacked instructions relating to average salaries.
There may be some overlap in information for requests 1) through 9). If so, there is no need for duplication in providing your responses.
I request that all the information be emailed to me in an electronic format (i.e., no paper copies). I also request that where an electronic document exists in a machine-readable format such as an Excel spreadsheet or Word document, it be provided in that format rather than scanned in an unsearchable format such as a pdf.
If fulfilling this Public Information Act request is expected to take more than 2 hours, then starting with 1) and moving down the list for any item above the two-hour free limit, the item should be costed out separately in your response to me. In addition, in the unlikely event that any information cannot be provided to me in an electronic format, it should also be costed out separately (i.e., above the first 50 free copies).
If you expect to spend more than two hours fulfilling this Public Information Act request, I request a public interest fee waiver. Approximately 80% of local public school budgets in Maryland is allocated to employee compensation. MSDE statistics about average compensation is routinely published in Maryland newspapers. It is in the best interests of the public that it understands the methodology behind those statistics. I expect to report my findings in one of the Maryland-related newspapers for which I have often written, including the Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, or Education Week.
I look forward to your response within the ten days required by law.
Sincerely,
J.H. Snider, President
iSolon.org
From: ‘William Reinhard -MSDE’
Sent: Thursday, November 10, 2016 2:34 PM
To: ‘J.H. Snider’
Subject: Follow-up
Dear Mr. Snider-
You recently emailed MSDE under the Maryland Public Information Act in search of a variety of information regarding its annual salary report.
The following, and the attached, are responsive to your request.
1) The detailed methodology MSDE used to calculate the “Salary Range for Ten-Month Teachers in Public School: 2014-2015 (page 13 of the Maryland State Department of Education Fact Book: 2014-2015);
MSDE does not calculate the salaries for this report. LEAs self-report salary scales for ten-month teachers. “Beginning” salaries are the salaries on Step 1 of the Bachelor’s salary scale (User Manual, page 5), “Mid-level” salaries are the salaries on Step 11 of the Master’s salary scale (User Manual, page 5), “Maximum” is the maximum Doctorate salary (User Manual, page 3).
2) The detailed methodology MSDE provided to local public schools to generate the data described in 1) above;
See 1 above.
3) Any written explanation of why some teachers and pay codes/categories are not included in the data described in 1) and 2) above (e.g., why non ten-month teachers aren’t normalized for statistical purposes as ten-month teachers).
MSDE does not calculate the salaries for this report. These are salary scales for ten-month teachers.
4) A list of all the database fields relating to teacher compensation and reimbursements that MSDE gathers from local public school districts. Any abbreviations for field names should be accompanied by a description of the field in standard written English (e.g., without inscrutable abbreviations);
See pages 3 and 4 in the User Manual.
5) The precise formulas MSDE uses to calculate some fields (e.g., total salary) from other compensation-related fields (e.g., specific pay codes/categories, FTE, and leave accumulations);
MSDE does not perform any calculations for this report.
6) A description of the compensation and reimbursement related data accessible to at least one local public school district officer but behind MSDE’s firewall (i.e., that requires a user to login to access the information); and
Salaries are submitted electronically by LEAs in MSDE’s Web Data Collection System (WDCS). See page 1 in the User Manual.
7) The manual MSDE data operators use to manage the local public school compensation and reimbursement data provided by local Maryland public school districts.
The Minimum/Maximum/Actual Salaries and Salary Schedules User Manual is attached.
Attached is a copy of the user’s manual.
Bill Reinhard
| Bill Reinhard Director of Communications Maryland State Dept. of Education 200 W. Baltimore Street Baltimore, Maryland 21201 william.reinhard@maryland.gov 410-767-0486 (office) 410-241-7108 (cell) Follow MSDE on Twitter @MdPublicSchools and join us on Facebook at MdPublicSchools |
From: ‘J.H. Snider’
Sent: Thursday, November 03, 2016 3:59 PM
To: ‘William Reinhard -MSDE’
Subject: Maryland Public Information Act request
Dear Mr. Reinhard:
Under the Maryland Public Information Act, State Government Article (SG) §§ 10-611, et seq., I request that you provide me with the following documents:
- The detailed methodology MSDE used to calculate the “Salary Range for Ten-Month Teachers in Public School: 2014-2015 (page 13 of the Maryland State Department of Education Fact Book: 2014-2015);
- The detailed methodology MSDE provided to local public schools to generate the data described in 1) above;
- Any written explanation of why some teachers and pay codes/categories are not included in the data described in 1) and 2) above (e.g., why non ten-month teachers aren’t normalized for statistical purposes as ten-month teachers).
- A list of all the database fields relating to teacher compensation and reimbursements that MSDE gathers from local public school districts. Any abbreviations for field names should be accompanied by a description of the field in standard written English (e.g., without inscrutable abbreviations);
- The precise formulas MSDE uses to calculate some fields (e.g., total salary) from other compensation-related fields (e.g., specific pay codes/categories, FTE, and leave accumulations);
- A description of the compensation and reimbursement related data accessible to at least one local public school district officer but behind MSDE’s firewall (i.e., that requires a user to login to access the information); and
- The manual MSDE data operators use to manage the local public school compensation and reimbursement data provided by local Maryland public school districts.
There may be some overlap in information for requests 1) through 7). If so, there is no need for duplication in providing your responses. For example, it might be that 7) provides all the data for 1) through 6), in which case providing 7) would be adequate to fulfill this Public Information Act request. Similarly, the detailed methodology described in 1) or 2) might cover the information requested in 3), 4), 5), and 6).
I request that all the information be emailed to me in an electronic format (i.e., no paper copies). I also request that where an electronic document exists in a machine readable format such as an Excel spreadsheet or Word document, it be provided in that format rather than scanned in an unsearchable format such as a pdf.
If fulfilling this Public Information Act request is expected to take more than 2 hours, then starting with 1) and moving down the list for any item above the two-hour free limit, the item should be costed out separately in your response to me. In addition, in the unlikely event that any information cannot be provided to me in an electronic format, it should also be costed out separately (i.e., above the first 50 free copies).
If you expect to spend more than two hours fulfilling this Public Information Act request, I request a public interest fee waiver. Approximately 80% of local public school budgets in Maryland is allocated to employee compensation. MSDE statistics about that compensation is routinely published in Maryland newspapers. It is in the best interests of the public that it understands the methodology behind those statistics. I expect to report my findings in one of the Maryland-related newspapers for which I have often written, including the Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, or Education Week.
I look forward to your response within the ten days required by law.
Sincerely,
J.H. Snider, President
iSolon.org