John Spaulding v. Natick, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20170405)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords April 10, 2017 SPR17/405 Peter Sanchioni, Ph.D. Natick Public Schools Office of the Superintendent 13 East Central Street Natick, MA 01760 Dear Mr. Sanchioni: I have received the petition of John Spaulding appealing the nonresponse of the Natick Public Schools (School) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1 OA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Spaulding requested dates and times of emails sent by a specifically identified person. The School denied his request stating they viewed it as harassment. The Public Records Law The Public Records Law strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all governrnental records are public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA(d); 950 C.M.R. 32.03(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, § lO(b)(iv); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. 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, § 1 O(b )(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. 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

Peter Sanchioni, Ph.D. SPR17/405 Page 2 April 10, 2017 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. Public Records Division attorneys are available during regular business hours to answer general questions regarding the Public Records Law. In addition, Public Records Division staff will visit a records custodian in person to conduct training workshops on the Public Records Law upon request. Please contact the Public Records Division directly at the telephone number provided in this determination for further information. Order Despite our letter to you dated March 30, 2017 acknowledging the opening of this appeal and a message from a member of my staff wishing to discuss your claim of harassment, no response has been issued and no communication has been forthcoming. Accordingly, the School is hereby ordered to provide Mr. Spaulding with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten (10) business 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. Sincerely, ~ u r r ~ Supervisor of Records cc: John Spaulding