Corey Spaulding v. Natick, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20180151)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor o f Records February 9,2018 SPR181151 Timothy Luff Assistant Superintendent Office of Student Services Natick Public Schools 13 East Central Street Natick. MA 01760 I have received your petition on behalf of the Natick Public Schools (School) seeking relief from its obligation to produce responsive records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). As required by law, the Department furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). In a request received by the School on January 30,2018, Corey Spaulding made 7 separate requests pertaining to various meeting minutes, treasurer reports, and other fmancial reports. 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; (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. 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

Timothy Luff Page 2 February 9,20 18 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 C.M.R. 36.06(4)(b). Current petition The School is "seeking relief of [their] obligation to provide copies of records sought" because the 7 new requests "are part of a series of contemporaneous requests that are frivolous and 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 School claims "these particular requests are focused on a frivolous claim of embezzlement by the school committee and the Natick PTOs in which she argues had a direct impact on her child's education in the Natick Schools." The School states "these records are clearly not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public, rather for her own personal agenda regarding this frivolous claim." In support of this claim, the School explains "Ms. Spaulding has regularly made public and student record requests over the course of the past 5 years." They further explain "Natick has regularly responded and provided these public andor student records. Ms. Spaulding's multiple emails requesting records over this period has been of a significant nature." Based on the information provided in the February 5" petition, I find that the School has not met its burden to demonstrate "the requests are not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity" as required by G. L, c. 66 § lO(c). Conclusion The School must provide a response to Ms. Spaulding in accordance with G. L. c. 66, 9 10(b). This response may identify any records, categories of records or portions of records that the School intends to withhold, and provide the specific reasons for such withholding, including the specific exemption or exemptions upon which the withholding is based. See G. L. c. 66, 5 lO(b)(iv).

Timothy Luff Page 3 February 9,2018 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Corey Spaulding