Benjamin J. Wish v. Brookline, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20191690)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords August 23, 2019 SPR19/1690 Suzanne McCormick - de Boer Public Schools of Brookline Administration and Finance 3 3 3 Washington Street Brookline, MA 0244 Dear Ms. McCormick - de Boer: I have received your petition on behalf of the Brookline Public Schools (School) seeking an extension of time to produce records. G. L. c. 66, § lO(c); see also 950 C.M.R. 36.06(4)(b). As required by law, the School furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor. G. L. c. 66, § lO(d)(iv). In a letter dated June 21, 2019, Benjamin Wish seeks 30 categories ofrecords concerning the Brookline K-8 schools. Petitions for an extension of time Under the Public Records Law, a records access officer may petition the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) for an extension of the time for the agency or municipality to furnish copies of the requested record, or any portion of the requested record, that the agency or municipality has within its possession, custody or control and intends to furnish within 20 business days after initial receipt of the request, or within 10 business days after receipt of a determination by the Supervisor that the requested record constitutes a public record. Upon a showing of good cause, the 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 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

Suzanne McCormick - de Boer SPR19/1690 Page 2 August 23, 2019 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). 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 requestor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 36.06(4)(b). Previous determinations This request was the subject of previous determinations. See SPR19/1639 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (August 12, 2019); SPR19/1573 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (August 13, 2019). In my August 12th determination, which pertained to an appeal filed by Mr. Wish, I ordered the School to provide Mr. Wish with a response in accordance with the Public Records Law, its Access Regulations and the order within 10 business days, as well as responsive records as they become available without delay. In my August 13th determination, which pertained to a time petition submitted by the School, I found that in light of the School's communications with this office it was unnecessary to opine on the School's petition seeking an extension of time to furnish copies of the requested records. I also noted that should the School require additional time to produce the responsive records, it may submit a petition within 10 days ofreceipt of the August lih determination. See G. L. c. 66, § IO(c). Current petition In its current petition dated August 16, 2019, the School states "Mr. Wish seeks 30 categories ofrecords concerning Brookline K-8 schools. We believe we will need 20 more business days to provide the records requested. The Public Schools of Brookline is requesting an extension for the following reasons: • The scope of the request is too large for us to produce all records without extension. The extension will be needed for us to search for, collect, segregate and/or examine the great amount of records requested. A portion of the records will have to be redacted to prevent unlawful disclosure. • The Public Schools of Brookline currently does not have the capacity to produce the

Suzanne McCormick -de Boer SPR19/1690 Page 3 August 23, 2019 request without the extension, partly because of summer schedules of staff and partly because staff present need to prepare for schools opening after summer break in September." I find that in light of the volume of the responsive records, the capacity of the School to produce the request without the extension, and the efforts undertaken by the School in fulfilling the request, the School has established good cause to permit an extension of time. See G. L. c·. 66, § 10( )(i)-(iv). C In an email dated August 21, 2019, Mr. Wish objects to the School's August 16th petition and contends that the School did not submit the petition in a timely manner. It should be noted that with respect to the timeframes to submit a petition for an extension of time, G. L. c. 66, § 10(c ) provides the following: ... a records access officer may, as soon as practical and within 20 business days after initial receipt of the request, or within 10 business days after receipt of a determination by the supervisor of public records that the requested record constitutes a public record, petition the supervisor of records for an extension of the time for the agency or municipality to furnish copies of the requested record, or any portion of the requested record, that the agency or municipality has within its possession, custody or control and intends to furnish. Further, 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4)(d) states: petitions seeking an extension of time to furnish copies of the requested records must be made by a records access officer within 20 business days after receipt of a request for public records, or within ten business days after the records access officer's receipt of a determination by the Supervisor that a requested record constitutes a public record. As demonstrated above, G. L. c. 66, § lO(c) and 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4)(d) allow a records access officer to submit a time petition to this office either within 20 business days after initial receipt of the request or within 10 business days after receipt of a determination by the Supervisor that the requested record constitutes a public record. On August 12th I ordered the School to, in part, provide Mr. Wish responsive records as they become available without delay. It is my understanding that the records at issue in this c4rrent time petition are the same as those discussed in the August 12th order. The School submitted the current petition on August 16th, which is within 10 business days of my August lih order to provide records. Therefore, I find that the School submitted tlie August 16th petition in accordance with the timeframes articulated in G. L. c. 66, § lO(c) and 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4 )( d).

Suzanne McCormick - de Boer SPR19/1690 Page4 August 23, 2019 Conclusion . Accordingly, I hereby grant the School an extension of 20 business days from the date of this determination to furnish copies ofrecords responsive to Mr. Wish's request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10( c ). The School is advised it must provide the records in a manner consistent with the Public Records Law and its Access Regulations. To the extent possible, the School must provide responsive records on a rolling basis. Mr. Wish may seek judicial review of this decision by commencing a civil action in the appropriate superior court. See G. L. c. 66, §§ lO(c), lOA(c). This office encourages Mr. Wish and the School to continue to communicate to facilitate providing records more efficiently and affordably. See G. L. c. 66, § lO(b )(vii) (a municipality shall 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 municipality to produce records sought more efficiently and affordably). Sincerely, ~·0tuM4M~ (/ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Benjamin Wish