Charles L. Chasse v. Whittier Reg. Voc. Tech. School (SPR 20180394)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords April 9, 2018 SPR18/394 Lisa Rand Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent Whittier Tech 115 Amesbury Line Road Haverhill, MA 01830 Dear Ms. Rand: I have received the petition of Charles Chasse appealing the response of the Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School (School) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Chase requested" the name of the retiree representative who is a member of The Public Employee Committee, referenced in M.G.L. Chapter 32B, his or her contact information, and the date that member was voted onto the committee." Current Appeal On March 23, 2018 the School provided Mr. Chasse a response to his request for records. In the response the School states, "[w]e do not have such a committee." Unsatisfied with the response of the School, Mr. Chasse petitioned this office, and as a result SPRl 8/329 was opened. In his March 26, 2018 petition, Mr. Chasse expresses that he believes there is some type of advisory committee in which the School consults with concerning insurance for its employees. In his March 26th petition he writes, "[i]t is my understanding that since Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High school does purchase insurance for it employees it is required to consult an advisory committee which consist of eight members, one of whom is a retiree of Whittier." The Schools' Responses On March 29, 2018 the School provided Mr. Chasse a supplementary response that expressed that there is no committee or retiree representative. In the March 29th letter the School writes, "Whittier Tech has not accepted the provisions ofMGL Chapter 32B, Section 19. Therefore, there is no public employee committee or retiree representative." 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

Lisa Rand SPR18/394 Page2 April 9, 2018 On April 4, 2018, Mr. Chasse expressed to this office that he can accept Ms. Land's answer that the School has not accepted the provisions of M.G.L. Chapter 32B, Section 19. However, he wishes to continue his appeal since M.G.L. 32B mentions a retiree representative in more than one section. He further states, "[s J ection 3 of G.L. 32B requires, prior to the purchase of insurance the public authority shall consult with an advisory committee consisting of seven persons elected or appointed to the committee and one person who shall be a retiree of a governmental unit who shall be duly appointed to membership on the committee." On April 6th 2018, Attorney Rosann DiPietro of Long & DiPietro LLP expressed to this office and Mr. Chasse that she is writing on behalf of the School and that there are no records responsive to Mr. Chasse's request. In her response Attorney DiPietro states, "[m.]y client does not have a C. 32B, Section 19 Public Employee Committee (PEC). Therefore, there is no information that is responsive to that request." In her April 6th letter Attorney DiPietro further states "Mr. Chasse may have made a supplemental request concerning an advisory committee under section 3, as opposed to a PEC under section 19. We will follow up with him directly to clarify what he seeks in terms of that supplemental request, and we will send a copy of that clarification request to your office's general email box." Subsequently on that same day, Attorney DiPietro sent Mr. Chasse a letter seeking clarification. Please note the duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the possession, custody, or control of the custodian of records at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § lO(a)(ii). In light of Attorney DiPietro' s April 6th response on behalf of the School, as well as her communication with this office, I find that the School has met its burden in responding to this request. See G. L. c. 66, § 1O (b )(ii). Please be advised, this office encourages the School and Mr. Chasse to communicate further to enable the School to provide the requested public records. G. L. C 66, § lO(a)(i). Sincerely, ~~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Charles Chasse Attorney Rosann DiPietro