Ronald Alexander v. Natick, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20180404)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords April 3, 2018 SPR18/404 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 School furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor. G. L. c. 66, § lO(c). In a request received by the School on March 26, 2018, Ronald Alexander requested "to inspect any and all contracts for legal services by and between the Town of Natick, MA and any and all attorneys and legal firms ... for the time period January 1, 2010 to present." Petitions/or 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. G. L. c. 66, § lO(c). 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 SPR18/404 Page 2 April 3, 2018 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 obligation to provide copies of the records sought. Id. 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 "immediate indefinite time relief to respond to Mr. Ron Alexander's requests for public records and/or Open Meeting law complaints." With respect to the March 26th request made by Mr. Alexander, the School asks in reviewing the request for an indefinite time extension that the Supervisor "consider[s] all of the requests attached." The School attached requests by Mr. Alexander starting from February 13, 2018 to present, including "23 claims" made by Mr. Alexander under the Open Meeting Law. Based on the information provided in the March 2ih petition, I find that the School has not met its burden to demonstrate the requests, which relate to contracts for legal services by and between the Town of Natick, 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, § lO(c). Conclusion The School must provide a response to Mr. Alexander in accordance with G. L. c. 66, § 1O (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, § 1O (b )(iv). Sincerely, ~~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Ronald Alexander