Jeffrey M. Hull v. Wilmington, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20170223)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords February 22, 2017 SPR17/223 Joanne Benton Superintendent Wilmington Public Schools 161 Church Street Wilmington, MA 00887 Dear Ms. Benton: I have received the petition of Jeffrey Hull, Town Manager for.the Town of Wilmington, appealing the response of the Wilmington Public Schools (School) and the Wilmington School Committee (Committee) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1 ). Specifically, Mr. Hull, on behalf of the Wilmington Board of Selectmen (Board), requested copies of executive session minutes for a meeting of the Committee on October 3, 2016 and any subsequent meetings relating to a specific separation agreement. In responses dated December 29, 2016 and January 12, 2017 the request was denied as the lawful purpose of the executive session remains ongoing. Open Meeting Law The nature of Mr. Hull's request and the content of the provided responses raise issues that invoke the Open Meeting Law. Given that an interpretation of the Open Meeting Law falls within the authority of the Office of the Attorney General (AGO) and not this office, I decline to provide a determination as to the status of the executive session minutes. See G.L. c. 30A, §23. It is recommended that you contact the AGO should you seek a determination on this issue. Sincerely, ~~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Jeffrey M. Hull, Town Manager, Town of Wilmington Julie Broussard, Chairperson, Wilmington School Committee 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