Chrissy Ryan v. Amherst-Pelham Regional School Districts (SPR 20191884)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords September 25, 2019 SPR 19/1884 Debbie Westmoreland Director of Communications and Operations Amherst-Pelham Regional Public Schools 170 Chestnut Street Amherst, MA O1 002 Dear Ms. Westmoreland: I have received the petition of Chrissy Ryan appealing the response of Amherst-Pelham Regional School District (District) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Ms. Ryan requested yearly goals for the Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent, and job descriptions for a number of staff positions. Unsatisfied with the response she had received from the District, Ms. Ryan petitioned this office and this appeal was opened as a result. 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, § IOA(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, § 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, § 1O (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 pmiion of the responsive record. Current appeal In her petition to this office, Ms. Ryan indicates that she has not received records responsive to her requests for job descriptions and yearly goals for certain staff positions. 011e 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. Debbie Westmoreland SPR19/1884 Page 2 September 25, 2019 Job Descriptions, Superintendent Goals Subsequent to the opening of this appeal, I learned that the District provided a response containing records responsive to the request for job descriptions on August 16, 2019 (re-sent on September 6, 2019) and to the request the Superintendent's goals on September 13, 2019. Whereas this appeal was opened based on Ms. Ryan not receiving a response to her request, I consider this portion of the appeal closed. Ms. Ryan may appeal the substantive nature of the District's response within ninety days. See C.M.R. 32.08(1). Assistant Superintendent Goals In its September 6, 2019 response, the District stated that "[t]he Assistant Superintendent's goals are an employee record and not subject to public records requests." Based on the District's September 6th response, it is unclear which exemption is being claimed, and how it applies to the responsive record. See G. L. c. 66, § lO(b)(iv) (a written response shall "identify any records, categories of records or p01iions of records that the agency or municipality intends to withhold, and provide the specific reasons for such withholding, including the specific exemption or exemptions upon which the withholding is based .... "); Flatley, 419 Mass. at 511 ( custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). The District must identify what exemption it is claiming and demonstrate how that exemption applies to the responsive record. It is additionally unce1iain why the district is withholding responsive records in their entirety. See Reinstein v. Police Comm'r of Boston, 378 Mass. 281, 289-90 (1979) (the statutory exemptions are narrowly construed and not blanket in nature). Any non-exempt, segregable portion of a public record is subject to mandatory disclosure. G. L. c. 66 § lO(a). The District must explain why any non-exempt, segregable portions of the responsive records cannot be disclosed. Therefore I find that the District has not met its burden to show what exemption applies 1 to withhold the responsive record in its entirety.

Ms. Debbie Westmoreland SPR19/1884 Page 3 September 25, 2019 Conclusion Accordingly, the District is ordered to provide Ms. Ryan a response in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law, and its Regulations within ten (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, ~M~ Supervisor of Records cc: Chrissy Ryan