Michael DiPronio v. Wellesley, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20160241)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords April20, 2016 SPR16/241 Ms. Judy Belliveau Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations Wellesley Public Schools 40 Kingsbury Street Wellesley, MA 02481 Dear Ms. Belliveau: I have received the petition of Michael DiPronio appealing the response of the Town of Wellesley- Public Schools (Schools) to his March 6, 2016 request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1 O(b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Mr. DiPronio requested four categories of records. In this request Mr. DiPronio requested a detailed estimate should costs exceed $500.00. On March 21, 20 16 you provided an acknowledgment indicating costs would indeed exceed $500.00, further stating detailed response would follow. By letter dated March 26, 2016 Mr. DiPronio provided a check for $500.00 and requested the responsive records be provided. By email dated April 1, 2016 you again explained to Mr. DiPronio that the costs are expected to exceed $500.00. The Schools further notified Mr. DiPronio that the check would not be deposited until such time as the total estimate was calculated by the Schools and provided to Mr. DiPronio. By letter dated April1, 2016 Mr. DiPronio appealed, as a response had not been provided within ten days. Under the Public Records Law and the Access Regulations (Regulations) all requests for public records must be met with a response within ten (10) 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. The Schools is advised that all records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. Subsequent to the opening of this appeal you notified a member of my staff that the Schools will provide a detailed written response to Mr. DiPronio's request. Accordingly, I will consider this administrative appeal closed with the proviso that Schools provide Mr. DiPronio with a detailed response within ten (1 0) days, made in accordance with the Public Records Law, its Access Regulations and this order. OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/pre

..... .Ms.JudithBelliv-eau ....... .... .SPRl.6,124l Page 2 April20, 2016 If the Schools maintains that any portion of the responsive records are exempt from disclosure it must, within ten (1 0) days provide to Mr. DiPronio a written explanation, with specificity, how a particular exemption applies to each record. To meet the specificity requirement a custodian must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. 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. If there are any fees associated with this response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § lO(a); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(2) (where cost of complying with a request for public records is expected to exceed ten dollars ($10.00), custodian of records shall provide written good faith estimate). Once the fees are paid, you must provide the responsive records. To assist the Department in responding to requests for public records I refer you 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 and other members of 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 conduct training workshops on the Public Records Law upon request. Please contact my office directly at the telephone numb r provided in this determination for further information. cc: Mr. Michael DiPronio