Abiah Williams v. Mount Greylock Regional School District (SPR 20192053)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray S11pe111isor ofR ecords October 23, 2019 SPR19/2053 Stacie A. Vigiard Records Access Officer Mount Greylock Regional School District 1781 Cold Spring Rd. Williamstown, MA 01267 Dear Ms. Vigiard: I have received the petition of Abiah Williams appealing the response of the Mount Greylock Regional School District (District) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 50 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Abiah Williams requested "[a]ll phone conversations, emails, and text messages between Superintendent Kim Grady and Regina Di[L]ego .. .in regards to Lanesborough Elementary School" for the month of September 2018. The District's Response On October 4, 2019 the District responded to this request with a fee estimate. The District estimated that it will take four (4) hours for "the Superintendent to parse through emails between herself and Regina DiLego in order to asce1iain any and all that are subject to release pursuant to this request." Fee Estimates A municipality may assess a reasonable fee for the production of public records except those records that are freely available for public inspection. G. L. c. 66, § 10( 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 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, § 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. 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 SPR19/2053 Page 2 October 23, 2019 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). The District's October 4t1, Estimate The District's April 16th response indicated that the anticipated time to complete the request is four (4) hours, charged at a rate of $25 per hour, with the fee for the first two hours waived, for a total estimated fee of $50. I find the District must explain why four hours will be needed to produce the records. Specifically, it must describe how much time will be needed to search for the records versus how much time will be needed to segregate and/or redact. The District must also explain whether the redactions are required by law. See G. L. c. 66, § lO(d)(iii) (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, § 10( d)(iv)); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4)(g). In addition, it is unclear whether the hourly rate being charged is that of the lowest-paid employee capable of preforming the task. Conclusion Accordingly, the District is ordered to provide Abiah Williams Mr. Paris a revised response in a manner consistent with the Public Records Law, its Regulations, and this order 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, ~r~ Supervisor of Records cc: Abiah Williams