Chrissy Ryan v. Amherst Regional Public Schools (SPR 20201283)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records August 6, 2020 SPR20/1283 Debbie Westmoreland Director of Communication and Operations Amherst Regional Public Schools 170 Chestnut Street Amherst, MA 01002 Dear Ms. Westmoreland: I have received the petition of Chrissy Ryan appealing the response of the Amherst Regional Public Schools (School/District) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Ms. Ryan requested: “[p]rintout of MUNIS: all spending from all MUNIS accounts from last 60 days including but not limited to operation costs, salaries, reimbursements, discretionary spending, credit card accounts, legal fees, invoice payments, etc.” On May 12, 2020, the School provided Ms. Ryan with a fee estimate to search for, compile, segregate and redact the responsive records. As a result of the fee estimate, on July 31, 2020, Ms. Ryan petitioned the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor), and this appeal was opened. In her July 31st petition, Ms. Ryan objects to being charged a fee estimate to receive the expenditures from the School’s budget. In addition, she states, “…I have never received any response from the [D]istrict on the matter of copies of credit card purchases, which admin in [the District schools] are authorized to carry [D]istrict credit cards, who is using them to buy off Amazon.com, Big Y grocery stor[e], as well as printout of the exact Amazon purchases.” Fee estimates - municipalities 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, § 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, § 10(d)(i). Municipalities may not assess a fee for the first (two) 2 hours of employee time to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce the record or records requested unless 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

Debbie Westmoreland SPR20/1283 Page 2 August 6, 2020 municipality has 20,000 people or less. G. L. c. 66, § 10(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 how if such rate is approved by the Supervisor of Records under a petition under G. L. c. 66, § 10(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, § 10(d)(iv). See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). The School’s May 12, 2020 fee estimate In its May 12th estimate, the School indicates, “[d]ocuments responsive to [Ms. Ryan’s] request are in the possession of the District, and the Business Office estimates it will take approximately four (4) hours to produce them, including redaction of identifiable student and staff information.” The estimate includes, “search time by the lowest-paid District employee capable of searching for and compiling responsive records: one (1) hour at $31.22 per hour [to be charged at $25.00 per hour, in accordance with 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2)(m)], for a total of $50.00.” The first two (2) hours of time devoted to complying with this request are excluded for the estimate. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii). In addition, the estimate indicates that if Ms. Ryan seeks paper copies instead of electronic copies, the School will assess a copy fee of $.05 per page. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(i). I find that the School has not explained how much of the 4 hours of time is dedicated to segregation and redaction of the records. Nor, has the District claimed any exemptions in the Public Records Law to explain what it means by “identifiable student and staff information.” The School is advised, 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). See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). To the best of my knowledge, the School has not filed a petition to assess segregation or redaction of the records that is not required by law. I find that the School must clarify its intent to assess fees for segregation and/or redaction of the records. Conclusion Accordingly, the School is ordered to provide Ms. Ryan with a response to the request, in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations as soon as practicable. 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.

Debbie Westmoreland SPR20/1283 Page 3 August 6, 2020 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Chrissy Ryan