Second Letter from Mr. Ramee

I mentioned in a previous post that the letter I sent to Mr. Neal Ramee had crossed in the mail with the letter that Mr. Ramee had sent to me. Mr. Ramee is the I-SS attorney in Raleigh that Dr. Holliday has directed me to contact in place of any I-SS administrator. Earlier this week I received a letter from Mr. Ramee in response to my letter to him. He started off by reiterating the things he mentioned in his previous letter and then went on to respond to my additional requests.

One of my requests was for I-SS to provide documentation that would show that the administration was following School policy that states that a designated electronics officer was ensuring that the computer databases were being indexed as required by law. Mr. Ramee responded by saying that I-SS does not have to prove or disprove an assertion and unless I am able to ask for a specific document I-SS is not under any obligation to respond.

I had also asked to see all requisitions for supplies and services from Jim Shipley & Associates (JSA). After seeing some of the invoices from JSA I figured that there must have been requisitions corresponding to those invoices. Mr. Ramee told me that no such 'requisitions' exist. I have since learned that I-SS does not use a form called a 'Requisition Form' but rather use an 'Authorization Order Form.' Thus I did not ask for the correct forms. I will now have to ask to see those 'Authorization' forms.

Another request I had was to see invoices from Mr. William McMillan and his law firm. Mr. Ramee told me that he would have to talk to Mr. McMillan and to I-SS officials before responding to my request.

I had also asked Mr. Ramee to have I-SS inform me how they determined that the charge for copies of public records would be 25 cents a page. He responded that the I-SS had determined that 25 cents per page is a reasonable charge that reflects the actual costs to the school system of providing such copies. The Iredell public library charges 10 cents a page for copies. I don't see how I-SS can justify 25 cents a page but I guess I just have to accept it.

In a previous post I mentioned that Dr. Holliday had directed me to leave the Central Office when I went there to pick up copies of public records. I asked Mr. Ramee to direct I-SS officials that if someone is at a school building for a legal and rightful purpose, that that person cannot be told to leave the building. Mr. Ramee responded that I could rest assured that I will be granted such access so long as I have an appointment for a specific time, date and place confirmed in advance through him.

I am now going to ask for an appointment to view the records I have requested as well as ask to see additional records.