Daryl Larsen v. Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents (SPR 20160491)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords July 13, 2016 SPR16/491 Mr. Tom Scott, Executive Director Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents 756 Marrett Road Lexington, MA 02421 Dear Mr. Scott: I have received the petition of Daryl Larsen appealing the nomesponses of hundreds of schools and school districts to a request for records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O (b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, on May 13, 2016, Mr. Larsen requested copies of individual-level data on teacher/administrator pay from 2010-2016, along with distinct characteristics such as gender, level of education, and years of experience. Mr. Larsen provided a spreadsheet of more than 200 schools and districts that provided no response to his request. A member of my staff contacted the first seventeen Superintendents on the spreadsheet and the general consensus seemed to be that the request was simply ignored. The Public Records Law The Public Records Law strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all governmental records are public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); 950 C.M.R. 32.08(4). "Public records" is broadly defined to include all documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any officer or employee of any town of the Commonwealth, unless falling within a statutory exemption. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26). It is the burden of the records custodian to demonstrate the application of an exemption in order to withhold a requested record. G. L. c. 66, § 10 ( c); see also District Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 ( 1995) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). 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. If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 10(a); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(2) (where cost of complying with a OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/pre

Mr. Tom Scott SPR16/491 Page 2 July 13, 2016 request for public records is expected to exceed ten dollars ($10.00), custodian of records shall provide written good faith estimate). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. 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 hiip://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. Order I find the schools and school districts have failed to respond to a request for public records. Accordingly, they are hereby ordered to provide Mr. Larsen with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations. 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. In addition, it is hereby ordered that the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents undergo public records training at their earliest convenience. A member of my staff will contact you to set up a date and time for said training. Shawn A. Williams Supervisor of Records cc: Mr. Daryl Larsen Mr. Michael Long, Esq.