Rick Paris v. Mount Greylock Regional School District (SPR 20191736)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records September 10, 2019 SPR19/1736 Stacie A. Vigiard Records Access Officer Mount Greylock Regional School District 1781 Cold Spring Rd. Williamstown, MA O1 267 Dear Ms. Vigiard: I have received the petition of Rick Paris appealing the response of the Mount Greylock Regional School District (District) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1O A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on August 14, 2019 Mr. Paris requested "[c]opies of all emails, texts, and/or phone conversations between Superintendent Kim Grady and Principal Wiley pertaining to Lanesborough Elementary School and any pertaining to Rick Paris in the month of August 2018." The District responded on August 26, 2019. Unsatisfied with this response, Mr. Paris appealed. 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, § lOA(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, u1:less falling within a statutory exemption. G. L. c. 4, § 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, § lO(b)(iv); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (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. Appeal 111 In in its August 26 response the District indicates "[y]ou previously requested the 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

Stacie A. Vigiard SPR19/1736 Page 2 September 10, 2019 information in your current request as part of a larger request on June 19, 2019. You received an estimate of the cost associated with providing the requested information. If you wish to appeal this matter, you may do so by appealing the decision to the Public Records Division." Fee estimates 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, § lO(d). The fees must reflect the actual cost of complying with a particular request. Id. A maximum fee of five cents ($.05) per page may be assessed for a black and white single or double-sided photocopy of a public record. G. L. c. 66, § lO(d)(i). Municipalities may not assess a fee for the first 2 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, § lO(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, redact or reproduce a record requested, but the fee shall not be more than $25 per hour. Id. 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, § 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 petition under G. L. c. 66, § lO(d)(iv). See G. L. c. 66, § lO(d)(iii); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). Mr. Paris and the District have been involved in previous appeals with this office. See SPR19/833 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (May 7, 2019); SPR19/1038 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (June 4, 2019); SPR19/1356 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (July 22, 2019). In addition, there is a pending appeal with this office, SPRl 9/1791, that involves a fee estimate for the provision of certain records that were at issue in SPR19/1356. Under the Public Records Law and the Access Regulations (Regulations) all requests for public records must be met with a response within ten business days ofreceipt of the request. G. L. c. 66, §. lO(a)-(b). The response may contain, among other things, an offer to provide records, a fee estimate for provision of the records, or a denial. G. L. c. 66, § 1O (b ). Based on the District's August 26th response, it is unclear how Mr. Paris's August 14th request is part of a larger request. Upon a review of the file for this appeal, it appears Mr. Paris's August 14th request is a new request that requires a response in compliance with G. L. c. 66, § 1O (b )(i)-(ix). The District must provide such a response.

Stacie A. Vigiard SPR19/1736 Page 3 September 10, 2019 Conclusion Accordingly, the District is ordered to provide Mr. Paris with a response to the request, 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. Sincerely, ~~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Rick Paris