Timothy R. McGuire v. Somerset-Berkley Regional School District (SPR 20181562)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Stpervisor of Records November 5,201 8 SPR18/1562 Ms. Robin Vaccaro Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent Somerset-Berkley Regional School District 580 Whetstone Hill Road Somerset, MA 02726 Dear Ms. Vaccaro: I have received the petition of Tim McGuire appealing the response of the Somerset- Berkley Regional School District (School) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § IOA; s -also 9 50 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. McGuire made a public records request to the School on May 17,2018 . The School provided a responsive email which was sent to Mr. McGuire on October 9,2018 . Mr. McGuire appealed the response to this office on October 22, 201 8 stating the School failed to provide responsive records without explanation after Mr. McGuire paid the School a fee. Fee estimates If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, 8 lO(b)(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2)(b) (a records access officer (RAO) shall provide written, itemized, good faith estimate). Once fees are paid, an RAO must provide the responsive records. A municipality may assess a reasonable fee for the production of a public record except those records that are freely available for public inspection. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). The fees must Id. reflect the actual cost of complying with a particular request. A maximum fee of five cents ($.05) per page may be assessed for black and white copies for both single and double-sided copies of a public record. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(i). Municipalities may not assess a fee for the first two hours of employee time to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce the record or records requested unless the municipality has 20,000 people or less. G. L. c. 66, 5 1O (d)(iii). Where appropriate, municipalities may include as part of the fee an hourly rate equal to or less than the hourly rate attributed to the lowest paid employee who has the necessary skill required to search for, compile, segregate, 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

Ms. Robin Vaccaro Page 2 November 5,20 18 Id. redact or reproduce a record requested, but the fee shall not be more than $25 per hour. However, municipalities may charge more than $25 per hour if such rate is approved by the Supervisor of Records under a petition under G. L. c. 66, 5 lO(d)(iv). A fee shall not be assessed for time spent segregating or redacting records unless such segregation or redaction is required by law or approved by the Supervisor of Records under a petitionunder G. L. c. 66, 5 lO(d)(iv). See G. L. c. 66, 5 lO(d)(iii); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). An RAO may not charge a fee unless the RAO provides a written response in 10 business days following the receipt of the request in compliance with G. L. c. 66, 5 lO(b). G. L. c. 66, 5 10(e). An RAO may suggest a reasonable modification of the scope of the request or offer to assist the requestor to modify the scope of the request if doing so would enable the agency or municipa - lity - to produce records sought more efficiently and affordably. See G. L. c. 66, 5 1O (b)(vii) . Appeal Mr. McGuire stated in his October 22nda ppeal that the School "indicated that those materials had been reclassified as non-responsive and they would not be sending them to him." It is not clear what, or if, there are documents that will be produced to Mr. McGuire and how the documents pertain to his public records request. See G. L. c. 66, fj 1O (b)(ii); lO(b)(iii). If the School is withholding the requested information it must identify the withheld information, cite an exemption as the basis of the withholding and explain why the exemption applies. See G. L. c. 66, 5 lO(b)(iv). The School's fee estimate must provide clarity on how many pages will be produced, how many hours are being assessed for search, how many hours are being assessed for segregation, the reasons for redaction of documents, if any, and any other associated fees. See G. L. c. 66, 5 10(d)(i) (a maximum fee of five cents ($.05) per page may be assessed for black and whte copies for both single and double-sided copies of a public record). A municipality may not charge for the first two hours of employee time to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce the record or records requested unless the municipality has 20,000 people or less. See G. L. c. 66, 5 lO(d)(iii). The School has not demonstrated if the first two hours of employee time to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce the record have been waived. Conclusion Accordingly, the School is ordered to provide Mr. McGuire with a revised fee estimate in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within 10 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.

Ms. Robin Vaccaro Page 3 November 5,201 8 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray V Supervisor of Records cc: Tim McGuire