PA Open Records Challenge

For my Journalism for the Print Media class at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), I was asked to complete a Pennsylvania Open Records Challenge. The first question asked to find Pennsylvania's ranking in the Better Government Association's 2002 survey of open record laws. Pennsylvania ranked 47th and received an F. States which ranked below Pennsylvania included: Alaska (47), Montana (47), South Dakota (47) and Alabama (50).
The next question asked to view www.passopenrecords.org to see if my state legislators (Senator John N. Wozniak and Gary Haluska) were in support of improving Pennsylvania's open records law. I could not find this information directly, so I emailed both legislators. Within a matter of days, I received a response from both of them, telling me that they are both in support of Pennsylvania's open records law.
The third and final question asked to obtain specific documents. I chose to obtain a contract from my school superintendent, Dr. Thomas Estep of Northern Cambria School District in Northern Cambria, Pennsylvania. I wrote a letter to him explaining my situation and asked if I could obtain a copy of his contract. Within a matter of days, I received a copy of his contract.
I found this assignment to be very easy. I was surprised at how quickly I received my information. I think that I was lucky to have legislators and a superintendent who were supportive of my requests.