Heather Evans v. Greenfield, City of - Public Schools (SPR 20161108)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor of Records December 13, 2016 SPR16/1108 Joanne Wall ace Executive Secretary to the Superintendent Greenfield Public Schools 195 Federal Street, Suite #101 Greenfield, MA 01301 Dear Ms. Wallace: I have received the petition of Heather Evans appealing the response of Town of Greensfield Public Schools (School) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O (b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Ms. Evans initially requested seven (7) categories of records of the Superintendent of Schools. Previous appeals and determinations This request was the subject of previous appeals and multiple determinations. See SPR15/788 Determinations of the Supervisor of Records (December 21, 2015; March 30, 2016; June 3, 2016); SPR16/693 Determinations of the Supervisor of Records (September 16, 2016); SPR16/836 Determinations of the Supervisor of Records (October 21, 2016). In my October 21 determination, I closed the appeal with the proviso that the School provide Ms. Evans with a revised estimate. The School responded to this order in a letter dated October 25, 2016 in which it deducted three hundred and seventy-five ($375.00) dollars from the estimate. The fee estimate is now at nine hundred eighty ($980.00). Ms. Evans informed this office that she seeks further action form this office and this appeal (SPRl 6/1108) was opened as a result. Current appeal In her appeal petition dated December 2, 2016, Ms. Evans indicates she has narrowed the scope of her request from seven (7) categories ofrecords down to one (1) in an effort to mitigate cost; she is now only requesting category number three (3). She indicated she is not withdrawing her requests for the other sets ofrecords altogether, but putting the request for the other six (6) sets on hold until she receives all records in category (3). One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832• Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre • pre@sec.state.ma.us

Ms. Joanne Wallace SPR16/1108 Page 2 December 13, 2016 Narrowing of the scope of the request; fee estimate In the School's previous response dated September 23, 2016, it explained that "[a] record has been prepared that includes all written and email communication" responsive to category 3. The School indicated there are forty-three (4 3) pages of responsive records and provides a fee estimate of $2.15 to reflect the cost of $0.05 per page. The School provided a separate fee for costs associated with "producing, redacting, and refiling the record." Although the School is now waiving the $375.00 associated with "attorney review," it continues to assess a fee for time spent by the Superintendent (8 hours) and administrative assistant (14 hours) to comply with the request. It appears the School did not provide a fee estimate that includes costs associated with "producing, redacting, and refiling" only records responsive to category 3. I find it must do so. The School must reevaluate the cost of providing records responsive to her narrowed request and provide her with an estimate only for records responsive to category 3. The School may, in addition to the copying fee of $2.15, charge a pro-rated fee based on the hourly rate of the lowest paid employee who is capable of performing the task of searching for and segregating only records responsive to category 3. 950 C.M.R. 32.06(1)(c). I understand an attorney on my staff contacted you about this matter and provided a copy of the appeal file. Conclusion Accordingly, the School is hereby ordered to provide Ms. Evans with a revised response, prepared 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. cc: Heather Evans Peter L. Smith, Esq.