Corey Spaulding v. Natick, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20180183)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records February 15,201 8 SPR181183 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, 5 10(c). In 13 requests received by the School since February 5,2018, Corey Spaulding requests various records pertaining to meeting minutes, treasurer reports, other financial reports, and emails regarding different organizations connected to Natick Public Schools. 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 15 ,201 8 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 "requesting an expansion of [their] previous public records request petition for relief dated February 5,2018." Seesupervisor of Records Determinations SPR18/1151 ( where School's petition was denied on grounds the School did not meet their 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 5 10(c)). The School states "[tlthese additional 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 continued to focus on a frivolous claim of embezzlement by the school committee, the Natick PTOs, and other nonprofits 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 and/or 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 12'~p etition, I find that the School has not met its burden to demonstrate the requests, which relate to meeting minutes and School related finances, are frivolous and not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, as required by G. L. c. 66, 5 10(c). Conclusion The School must provide a response to Ms. Spaulding in accordance with G. L. c. 66, 5 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

Timothy Luff Page 3 February 15,201 8 the specific exemption or exemptions upon which the withholding is based. G. L. c. 66, § 1O (b)(iv) . Sincerely, V Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Corey Spaulding