Kelsey Bode v. Andover, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20171434)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords October 10, 2017 SPR17/1434 Susan K. McCready Andover Public Schools 36R Bartlet Street Andover, MA 01810 Dear Ms. McCready: I have received the petition of Kelsey Bode appealing the response of the Andover Public Schools (School) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1O A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Ms. Bode requested copies ofthe School Committee's executive session minutes from August 31, 2017 to September 7, 2017. In its October 5, 2017 response, the School denied the request pursuant to the Open Meeting Law as it operates through Exemption (a) of the Public Records Law. See G. L. c. 30A, § 22(f); G. L. c. 4, § 7(26)(a). Ms. Bode appealed this response. Open Meeting Law In its September 13th response, the School asserts that "[t]he Committee has not yet reviewed the requested executive session minutes to determine whether they should be released. Therefore they are exempt in their entirety from the definition of a Public record." The School cites M.G. L. c. 4, § 7(26)(a) in support of this position. The School also cites the Open Meeting Law and states "[a]lthough your request does not state, to the extent that you intend to make your request pursuant to Section 22(g)(2) of the open meeting law, the Committee will first need to review the requested minuets to determine whether they may be released. The Committee intends to perform this review at its next regularly scheduled meeting." The nature of Ms. Bode's request and the content ofthe Committee's response potentially invoke the Open Meeting Law, particularly with respect to the issue of whether the lawful purposes of the executive sessions have ended. 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 public status of the executive session minutes at this time. See G.L. c. 30A, §23. It is recommended that the parties contact the AGO to seek a determination on this issue. 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

Susan K. McCready SPR17/1434 Page 2 October 10, 2017 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Kelsey Bode