Frank Sivo v. Hopkinton, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20171382)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supenusor of Records October 5,20 17 SPRl7/1382 Nancy J. Campany, Esq. Murphy, Lamere & Murphy, P. C. Hopkinton Public Schools 50 Braintree Hill Office Park, Suite 202 Braintree, MA 02 184 Dear Attorney Campany: I have received your petition on behalf of the Hopkinton Public Schools (the "District") seeking an extension of time to furnish copies of a requested record, or any portion thereof. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). As required by law, the District furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor. Specifically, Mr. Sivo requested copies of records concerning students enrolled at various programs of study at Hopkinton High School and a number of records pertaining to "transfer students." This request was the subject of multiple appeals by Mr. Sivo. See SPRl711259; SPR171126 1; SPR1711262; SPR1711264-1 269; SPR171127 1. Determinations of the Supervisor of Records (September 1, 20 17). In the September 2 1" determination, I ordered the District to provide Mr. Sivo with a supplemental response to the request provided in a manner consistent with the order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten business days. Petitions for an extension of time Under the Public Records Law, upon a showing of good cause, the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) may grant a single extension to an agency not to exceed 20 business days and a single extension to a municipality not to exceed 30 business days. In determining whether there has been a showing of good cause, the Supervisor shall consider, but shall not be limited to considering: (i) the need to search for, collect, segregate or examine records; (ii) the scope of redaction required to prevent unlawful disclosure; (iii) the capacity or the normal business hours of operation of the agency or municipality to produce the request without the extension; One Ashburton Place, Room 1719 , Boston, Massachusetts 021 08 (617) 727-2832. Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre pre@sec.state.ma.us

Nancy J. Campany, Esq. Page 2 October 5,201 7 (iv) efforts undertaken by the agency or municipality in fulfilling the current request and previous requests; (v) whether the request, either individually or as part of a series of requests from the same requestor, is frivolous or intended to harass or intimidate the agency or municipality; and (vi) the public interest served by expeditious disclosure. If the Supervisor determines that the request is part of a series of contemporaneous requests that are frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass, and the requests are not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, the Supervisor may grant a longer extension or relieve the agency or municipality of its Id. obligation to provide copies of the records sought. The filing of a petition does not affect the requirement that a Records Access Officer (RAO) shall provide an initial response to a requester within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 CMR 36.06(4)(b). Current petition In the District's September 29, 2017 petition, you explain the District is seeking an extension to respond to the September 21Std etermination referenced above. You explain, "it would be reasonable to expect the District to provide supplement its response to one or two appeal cases within 10 business days, to expect the District to provide supplemental responses on eleven different public records requests (ten cases, but eleven requests), simply because the SPR issued its response on the same day, is unreasonable." The District also provides that they have been responsive to all of Mr. Sivo's past requests, as well as ongoing requests "for meeting with teachers, staff, and the Superintendent." They note "all of these activities have diverted District personnel from other duties and obligations to other student and families." In an email dated September 29, 2017, you indicate the District is seeking the deadline for the provision of the "supplemental responses in each of these matters be extended from ten business days to twenty business days." I find that in light of my previous determinations, the actions required of the District therein, and the efforts undertaken to respond to previous requests, the District has established good cause to permit an extension of time. I hereby grant the District an extension of ten business days from the date of October 5,2017 to provide a response to Mr. Sivo. G. L. c. 66, 5 10(c) (the Supervisor of Records may grant a single extension to an agency not to exceed 20 business days).

Nancy J. Campany, Esq. Page 3 October 5,2017 Conclusion For the abovementioned reasons, the District is granted an extension of time to provide supplemental responses to Mr. Sivo in the manner described above. The responses must be provided in a manner consistent with the Public Records Law, its Access Regulations and my previous determinations. SPR1711259; SPR1711261; SPR1711262; SPR1711264-1269; SPR171127 1. Mr. Sivo may appeal the substantive nature of the District's responses within See ninety days. 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Please note that the requester has the right to seek judicial review of an unfavorable decision by commencing a civil action in the superior court. G. L. c. 66, 5 1O(c). Sincerely, - Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Frank Sivo