Chrissy Ryan v. Amherst Regional Public Schools (SPR 20200102)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords February 3, 2020 SPR20/0102 Ms. Debbie Westmoreland Amherst Regional Public Schools District 170 Chestnut Street Amherst, MA O1 002 Dear Ms. Westmoreland: I have received the petition of Chrissy Ryan appealing the response of the Amherst Regional Public Schools District (District) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on January 3, 2020, Ms. Ryan requested several categories of records regarding evidence an identified individual was "given to support his 'grievance' on behalf of the teachers and all correspondence about this grievance to/from the teachers and to/from the administration once it was sent to the district." Current Appeal Pursuant to G. L. c. 66 § lO(b)(vi), in its January 14, 2020 petition, the District is asking for an extension. The District explains the "magnitude of the request unduly burdens the other responsibilities of the District" and "will require twenty-five (25) business days to respond to the request." Unsatisfied with this response provided by the District, Ms. Ryan petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR20/0102, w~s opened as a result. It is my understanding the District has indicated it will be providing responsive records. The District is ordered to provide a response to the request in accordance with the Public Records Law and Access Regulations. I encourage Ms. Ryan and the District to communicate further in order to facilitate producing records efficiently and affordably. Ms. Ryan may wish to include applicable time periods or factors to enable the search to be processed. G. L. c. 66, § 10( a)(i). The District must use its knowledge of the records to facilitate providing any responsive records. G. L. c. 66, § lO(a)(vii) (an agency or municipality shall suggest a reasonable modification of the scope of the request or offer to assist the requester to modify the scope of the request if doing so would enable the agency or municipality to produce records sought more efficiently and affordably). 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. Debbie Westmoreland SPR20/0102 Page2 February 3, 2020 Sincerely, ~~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Ms. Chrissy Ryan