Samara Abramson v. Pioneer Valley Regional School District (SPR 20180047)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division

Rebecca S, Murray Supervisor of Records

January 29, 2018 SPR18/047

Gail Healy

Assistant Superintendent

Pioneer Valley Regional School District 97 F. Sumner Turner Road

Northfield, MA 01360

Dear Ms. Healy:

I have received the petition of Samara Abramson appealing the response of the Pioneer Valley Regional School District (District) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Ms. Abramson requested all food safety inspection reports in the cafeterias at the District from 2013-2017. The District responded to Ms. Abramson stating there were no records for Warwick Community School, attributing that to an incident involving a former Board of Health member. Ms. Abramson continued to communicate with the District. Members of the District communicated with Ms. Abramson citing conflicting information regarding the records sought. Ms. Abramson appealed to this office.

The Public Records Law

The Public Records Law strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all governmental records are public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A(d); 950 C.MLR. 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, § 10(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. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(iv).

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

Gail Healy SPR18/047 Page 2

January 29, 2017

If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be

provided. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records.

A review of email correspondence provided by Ms. Abramson raises questions regarding the records management practices of the District. Safeguards must be instituted by the District to ensure that all records are retained in accordance with both applicable law as well as the retention schedules promulgated by this office. G. L. c. 66, § 8; G. L. c. 66, § 13; G. L. c. 66, § 15. To assist the District in meeting its burden, I advise that the District review the Records Retention Manual, available free of charge online at www.sec.state.ma.us/arc/arcrmu/rmuidx.htm.

Order

Accordingly, the District is hereby ordered to provide Ms. Abramson 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,

Rebecca S. 2. Muwaay

Supervisor of Records

cc: Samara Abramson