Submit your request to the Communications Director, with your name, contact information, and a description of the records you are seeking. You may submit your request by email (communications@bethel.k12.or.us), by telephone (541-689-3280), by postal mail (c/o Bethel Communications Office, 4640 Barger Drive  Eugene, OR 97405), or in person

The Communications office will acknowledge your request, usually in writing, within five working days of receiving it. The office will then identify any records that are responsive and whether they need to be reviewed for confidential information. Once records are identified and any fees are paid, the records will be gathered, reviewed, and then shared with you. 

Most requests can be completed in a matter of days, but more complex requests can take several weeks or in some cases even longer. If it will take longer than fifteen working days to complete your request and provide records, we will tell you and you will receive regular updates.

Bethel School District tries to provide the public with records at no charge when possible. However, the District, as allowed by state law, reserves the right to charge for requests that are time-consuming or require large-scale printing. If gathering or reviewing the records will take a large amount of time, you will be provided with a written cost estimate. 

You may request a waiver or reduction of fees. The Communications Director will determine whether to grant your request by considering the public interest in the information requested, and a decision will be made within fifteen working days. The Director is always willing to work with you to narrow the scope of a request in order to streamline processing and reduce or eliminate fees.

If you don’t feel like the records answer your questions, or if you think there are records you didn’t receive, the simplest option is to submit another request. Sometimes changing a date range or keywords will make a big difference. The best way for us to help you is for you to be clear about what you’re looking for.

If you receive records that have been redacted and you don’t agree with the redactions, you have a couple of options. You may ask the Communications Director to reconsider the redactions. Or, you may ask the Lane County District Attorney to review the Director’s decision to redact or withhold records. You can also ask the School Board to review the decision. But the simplest option may be to simply ask for more explanation. Typically, we would only redact records if there’s a very good privacy reason or if we’re required to by law.