Under public comment, Glenn Frey, president of the Northwestern Lehigh Education Association, was asked what part of the agenda he wished to speak about at the Feb. 19 Northwestern Lehigh School Board meeting.

He said it covered everything.

Frey said he was speaking in an attempt to prevent damage to the relationship between the school board and the teachers.

The issue was a right-to-know request.

Later the person making the request, LeRoy Sorensen, said the request came solely from him as a resident and not from the board.

"We were told the request was legal, but is it right?" Frey asked.

He said the request was for imformation on the benefits and salaries of all employees.

Frey said if the board received the information with names and family members attached, it could be used to pressure people.

"This group is digging into our personal information but we don't want it given out," he said.

Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Holman was then asked if an appeal was filed with the state Office of Open Records in Harrisburg.

With the personal information redacted, the request was not appealed by any member or organization.

Board President Darryl Schafer said eight of the nine board members have no interest in the information. The request came only from Sorensen.

"I sent a letter to your officers that this board does not have the information," Schafer said. "The association's questions should be going directly to Sorensen.

"It should be noted the board did not receive this information, nor does it have any plans on acting on it."

Jeremy Smoyer, math teacher, reminded them one function of the board is to maintain "a healthy working atmosphere" and Sorensen refused to accept the redacted copy of the material he requested.

Smoyer said they are not being treated with the respect they should be and he does not see how the board's actions help students.

He added the board's actions do not agree with the written and stated policy.

Cindy O'Neill, fourth grade teacher, said she is proud to be a Northwestern teacher and the students are like her family.

In her opinion, the requested information could be used improperly and be harmful.

These requests are not seen as friendly, she said.

Dave Kerschner said it is hypocrisy for the board to object as members did not want their personal information made public.

Former board member Chris Ford said the information was requested for comparison purposes and he cannot see a good reason the names would be needed for that purpose.

Ford said he does not understand why the information was requested with names attached.

Business and Computer Department Chairman Mike Sikora reported one board member allegedly had a brick thrown into her car.

He said the information requested was intended to put pressure on people. Sikora concluded by saying he hoped information would not be used in a harmful way, because so much time is spent doing what is best for the kids.

Schafer thanked the teachers for coming to the meeting.

Sorensen was asked to use the microphone on the lectern because his discussion was as a resident, not a board member.

He said some of what he heard was not true.

Before he was on the board he requested information, a total for everyone in the district, but was told it was unavailable.

After he became a board member, he was again told the information did not exist.

Finally, he was told the information could be harmful.

He asked to meet with Frey and explain why he wanted the information.

He said his request was limited to financial compensation per employee.

Sorensen said he was not asking for marital status, beneficiaries and personal medical history.

Board member Bill Dellicker said the board had neither the appetite for nor the interest in the information.

Schafer said totals were all that was needed for comparisons, and offered to discuss it with any teacher outside of a public meeting and not as a member of the board.

Sorensen was asked by The Press to clarify his reasons for asking for the information. He responded March 24 by email.

"First, I asked for the total compensation (name, salary and benefits) for each individual school district employee, not just the teachers," he wrote. Sorensen said it was important to know the timeline regarding the issue.

"Before I even decided to run for school board, I asked for this information as a citizen and was told it does not exist," he wrote. "I then asked for it again about a year after becoming a member of the school board. Again, I was told this information did not exist. I felt being told this information didn't exist, after knowing it definitely did exist, was obstructive and dishonest.

"Left with no other options, I submitted a Right to Know Request to get this public information."

Sorensen said he was being prevented from carrying out his elected duties as an advocate for the Northwestern community.

"In order to fully understand the sustainability component of providing a public education to future generations, anyone would need to know the complete total costs associated with running the district."

"Only with accurate and complete information can advocates or elected officials make decisions in the best interests of homeowners, students and employees."

Sorensen said the school district did not supply him with the complete information he originally requested.

"They denied my request by falsely stating I asked for medical, psychiatric, psychological history or disability status," Sorensen wrote. "Their denial also stated I requested personal identification informa-tion.""At this point, I was forced to file an appeal with the Pa. Office of Open Records to receive this public information.

"I received notice that I won my appeal and the school district was forced to provide this public information to me.

Sorensen said the information is helpful in understanding the long-term sustainability of the school district.

"For example, you need to add salary increases to the total increases in health case insurance, pension costs and all other benefits to get an accurate figure of the increases for each employee's total compensation," he wrote. "This information provided me with the discovery there are major differences in the compensation totals for employees performing the same job duties."

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Debra Palmieri contributed to this article.