George H. Harris v. Wayland, Town of - School Committee (SPR 20160187)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords March 23, 2016 SPR16!187 Ms. Ellen Grieco Chair Town of Wayland- School Committee 41 Cochituate Road Wayland, MA 01778 Dear Ms. Grieco: I have received the petition of George H. Harris, Esq. appealing the nonresponse ofthe Town of Wayland- School Committee (Committee) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 10(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Attorney Harris requested copies of records related to a former athletic director. Having only received assurances that a response to his request was forthcoming, Attorney Harris petitioned this office. Under the Public Records Law and the Access Regulations (Regulations) all requests for public records must be met with a response within ten (1 0) days of the request. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b); 950 C.M.R. 32.05. The response may be an offer to provide records, a fee estimate for provision of the records, or a denial. All records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. In a conversation with an attorney on my staff you indicated you would confirm whether a response has been provided to Attorney Harris. Whereas the Committee intends to provide a response, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed with the proviso that such a response is provided to Attorney Harris within ten (1 0) days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Attorney Harris may appeal the substantive nature of the Committee's response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). To assist in requesting and responding to requests for public records please refer to our publication, A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law. This document is available on the Internet, free of charge, at http://www.sec.state.ma.us/pre/prepdf/guide.pdf. Attorneys on my staff are available during regular business hours to answer general questions regarding the Public Records Law. In addition, members of my staff will visit a records custodian in person to OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma.us/pre

Ms. Ellen Grieco SPR16/187 Page 2 March 23,2016 conduct training workshops on the Public Records Law upo r quest. Please contact my office directly at the telephone number provided in this det for further information. illiams cc: Mr. George H. Harris, Esq.