Mesh Chair Mystery
So many questions surround the mystery of the mesh chair
Who generated the purchase requisition for the mesh chair?
How many mesh chairs were there?
Could anybody request a chair?
Where is the mesh chair now?
How much money did the mesh chair cost?
How many emails were sent in total in regards to the mesh chair?
How many emails were sent in total in regards to the mesh chair?
Is Mark Kushner my hero?
Who redacted the email from everybody's inbox?
Does the email even exist anymore?
Did it ever?
Can I get one?
What we do know
The original email was sent by Betty Preciado on August 30th, 2022
The email still existed on September 1st, 2022, when the screen capture was taken
The subject of the email was "Mesh office chair"
The chair appeared to be copper in color or material
The email no longer exists in all PUSD teacher accounts
This is not the only case of redacted emails, but it is the only documented one
A public record request was completed only to learn that school email records are not maintained
Emails that appear to be redacted
Email deleted 9/1/22 about mesh chair
Email deleted around 12/1/22 about remote mail room clerk position
Email deleted from 12/8/22 from Patrick Gannon about negotiations update. Original email was viewed by multiple PUSD employees, also email says "CORRECTED" yet the original is now nowhere to be found.
What steps have been taken
Mike Weston has directly reached out to Patrick Gannon at Pleasanton Unified School District to request information in regards to the mesh chair email. The procedure as set forth by Pleasanton Unified School District was followed, aside from including a mailing address in order to maintain Mike Weston's privacy.
An official public record request was made on 1/19/23 and again 11 days later on 1/30/23 as the instructions indicate a response is due within 10 calendar days.
Neither of these emails received a response.
The email was sent from Mike Weston's professional account: mike@meshchairmystery.com
The analytic data for meshchairmystery.com indicated traffic shortly after the initial email was sent from Alameda County.
In order to test if the emails were captured by a spam filter, a message was sent to all of Pleasanton Unified School District's Human Resources department enquiring about job postings. No responses were received.
Emails sent:
1/19/23
Hello Mr. Gannon,
I am emailing today to request a digital copy of an email thread sent on or around August 30th, 2022. I believe this email has the subject line "Mesh office chair" and was originally sent by Betty Preciado. Could you please provide a digital PDF copy of this full email thread and send it to: mike@meshchairmystery.com
Thank you,
Mike Weston
meshchairmystery.com
1/30/23
Hello Mr. Gannon,
This is my second request for a digital copy of the following email thread:
Sent on or around August 30th, 2022. I believe this email has the subject line "Mesh office chair" and was originally sent by Betty Preciado. Could you please provide a digital PDF copy of this full email thread and send it to: mike@meshchairmystery.com
It is my understanding that Pleasanton Unified School District will provide acknowledgment of a public records request within 10 calendar days of the initial request. Please see previous email sent on January 19, 2023
Thank you,
Mike Weston
mike@meshchairmystery.com
meshchairmystery.com
(937) 230-5859
2/16/23
bcc: acardenas-hill@pleasantonusd.net, jesparza@pleasantonusd.net, gaquino@pleasantonusd.net, nhurtado@pleasantonusd.net, bjernstedt@pleasantonusd.net, smccord@pleasantonusd.net, rparikh@pleasantonusd.net, lreilly@pleasantonusd.net, nsarveiya@pleasantonusd.net, jtwisselmann@pleasantonusd.net, mweling@pleasantonusd.net, swheeler@pleasantonusd.net
Hi,
Could you please direct me to the open teaching positions within PUSD.
Thanks,
Mike Weston
Next Steps
Attempt at a public record request from a different email address to check if a spam filter was the issue, potentially with a mailing address in order to ensure that there is no reason the request could be ignored.