Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information
Minutes, April 16, 2025
The regular monthly meeting was via Zoom.
Present: Michele Jacklin, Mike Savino, Tom Scheffey, Mary Connolly, Jacqueline Smith, Jeff Daniels, Chris Powell, Mitch Pearlman, Karen Florin, Clare Dignan, Katherine Revello, Colleen Murphy, Paula Pearlman, Liz Gemski.
The minutes of the March 19, 2025 monthly meeting and the April 2, 2025 legislative update meeting were accepted
Legislative report: Gemski said she is scheduling meetings with legislative leaders to express concerns about pending legislation. She is asking that action on bills to exempt the addresses of public employees and domestic violence facilities don’t go to the floor for a vote until she can speak to the leadership.
School lottery algorithm court case: Murphy said the FOI Commission is asking state superior court to reconsider its ruling on the school lottery algorithm used to admit students under the Sheff v. O’Neill desegregation case. The state Department of Education rejected an FOI request for the data used to create the algorithm, citing the FOI Act trade secret exemption. The case was appealed to the FOI Commission, which found the trade secret exemption does not apply and the requested information should be made public. The Department of Education appealed that decision to superior court. The FOIC decision was overturned, not based on the trade secret exemption but another FOI exemption that covers pending litigation.
Treasurer’s report: Smith said the current balance is $11,208.89. We agreed to begin planning for our two annual events in June, an early evening awards event and the board’s annual afternoon retreat meeting to plan for the future. Smith was authorized to contact the Hartford Club for an available date in June and make a reservation for the awards event. The date for the annual board retreat will be set once the date for the awards event is known.
Awards planning committee: Volunteers are Mike, Mary, Clare, Jeff, Karen, Liz and Colleen.
Looking ahead: A legislative update meeting will be May 7 at 9 a.m. via Zoom. The regular monthly meeting will be May 15 at 9 a.m. via Zoom.