OPRA-002: Paraprofessional coverage records
Status: Filed · Filed: October 14, 2026 · Response due: October 23, 2026
Why this request
Families were told in April that students would “continue to see the same familiar faces” and that there would be “no rotation of paras”. As far as I can find, the district has published nothing in writing since school opened showing how many paraprofessional positions are filled on a given day. This request asks for the district’s own coverage records.
Two related records have gone to another resident: on September 16 the district released a list of 145 paraprofessionals with their employer, and on October 16 it took a two-week extension, to October 30, on a request for September’s substitute-coverage report for paraprofessional absences (see Requests by other residents).
The request
The text below is the request as prepared for filing. The filed copy carries the requester’s contact details and date in place of this heading.
To: Custodian of Records, West Orange Board of Education, 179 Eagle Rock Avenue, West Orange, NJ 07052
From: Rasmus Praestholm (contact details are on the filed copy)
This is a request for government records under the Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq., and the common law right of access. It is not made for a commercial purpose, and the records are not sought in connection with a legal proceeding. Electronic copies by email are requested; where a record exists as a spreadsheet or a system export, please send it in that form.
Period: September 1, 2026 through the date of this request.
Records requested:
- Every report delivered to the District during the period by EduStaff, or by any other vendor providing paraprofessional staffing, concerning fill rates, absences, vacancies, or unfilled paraprofessional assignments.
- A report or export from the absence-management or scheduling system used for paraprofessional assignments, whether the District operates it or the vendor operates it on the District’s behalf, showing for each school day in the period, by school building, the number of paraprofessional assignments, the number filled, and the number unfilled. If no report with exactly those fields exists, please send the closest standard report that system produces.
- The most recent existing document(s) showing paraprofessional positions or assignments by school for 2026-27 and which of them are vacant, such as a staffing allocation list or vacancy list.
- Any presentation, slides, or written report on paraprofessional staffing delivered at the September 28, 2026 Board meeting.
- The classroom aide or paraprofessional job description(s) in effect for 2026-27, and the county office of education’s approval of them under N.J.A.C. 6A:14-4.1(e).
Notes for the custodian:
- I am asking for existing records and stored data, not for research or new analysis. Item 2 asks for fields already held in a database; see Paff v. Galloway Township, 229 N.J. 340 (2017).
- I am not seeking student names or any personally identifiable student information, and I do not need the names of individual paraprofessionals. Please redact those and note the basis for each redaction. Counts by building and date are what matter.
- If any item is denied in whole or in part, please state the specific legal basis for each denial, as N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(g) requires.
- If you expect to assess a special service charge, please send an itemized estimate before doing the work.
Log
- October 1, 2026. Drafted.
- October 13, 2026. Text finalized for filing.
- October 14, 2026. Handed to the custodian of records at the Business Office, 179 Eagle Rock Avenue, with the district’s OPRA request form; the receipt copy was date-stamped the same day (see Documents). The same text was emailed to the custodian, who confirmed receipt. The seven-business-day response period runs to October 23, 2026.