Ronald Alexander v. Natick, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20180723)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records June 4,201 8 SPR181723 Timothy Luff Town of Naticlc Public Schools Office of the Superintendent 13 East Central Street Natick, MA 0 1760 Dear Mr. Luff: I have received the petition of Ronald Alexander appealing the response of Natick Public Schools (School) to a request for public records. G. L, c. 66, 5 IOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on February 13, 2018, Mr. Alexander requested "to inspect all communications by and between the Naticlc School Committee and Superintendent Peter Sanchioni from 00:OO hours EST on January 1,2018 to present, including but not limited to emails, letters, memos, sticky notes, phone calls, etc." On March 12, 2018, the School responded to Mr. Alexander's request providing responsive records. 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, 5 1O A(d); 950 C.M.R. 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, 5 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, 5 lO(b)(iv); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 51 1 (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. If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, 5 lO(b)(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. One Ashburton Place, Room 17 19, Boston, Massachusetts 02 108 * (6 17) 727-2832. Fax: (6 17) 727-59 14 sec.state.ma.us/pre pre@sec.state.ma.us

Timothy Luff Page 2 June 4,20 18 Additional responsive records On March 12"' the School provided Mr. Alexander with responsive records. In Mr. Alexander's petition for appeal he indicates that the records provided to him by the School "correspond to the five (5) female members of the Committee. However, there are two other members of the Committee not represented in these records.. ." Mr. Alexander alleges that the School "did not provide any explanation for why the email related to the male committee members of the Committee was not provided in the responsive records." Additionally, Mr. Alexander provided this office with a 112 page document including the responsive emails provided to him by the School. Please note that upon review of the responsive records, this office was able to locate emails involving the two male school committee members. Under the Public Records Law, 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. G. L. c. 66, 5 lO(a)(ii). Although the School provided Mr. Alexander with some responsive records, based on its March 1 2re~sp~on se, it is unclear if the School possesses any other records responsive to his request. Based on the School's response in conjunction with Mr. Alexander's petition for appeal, it is uncertain whether the School possesses additional responsive records. Specifically, it is unclear whether the School possesses additional records involving the two male school committee members. The School must clarify whether it possesses any additional responsive records and provide such records in a manner consistent with the Public Records Law and its Regulations. I understand a Public Records Division staff attorney made contact with your office about this matter. Order Accordingly, the School is hereby ordered to provide Mr. Alexander with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten 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, u Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Ronald Alexander