Benjamin Douglas v. Lynn, City of - Public Schools (SPR 20201296)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records August 6, 2020 SPR20/1296 Charles N. Gallo, J.D. Compliance Officer City of Lynn Public Schools 100 Bennett Street Lynn, MA 01905 Dear Mr. Gallo: I have received the petition of Benjamin Douglas appealing the response of the City of Lynn Public Schools (School) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Douglas requested: 1. Agreement between the Lynn Public School District (School) and the Lynn School Administrators’ Association; and 2. Agenda as well as the minutes (indicating date, time, place, members present/absent, and actions taken) for all School Council meetings at Lynn Classical High School (School) from April 2019 to July 2020. Prior appeals This request was subject to a prior appeal. The Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) issued a determination on July 29, 2020 pertaining to the School’s lack of response to the request for the collective bargaining agreement. See SPR20/1249 Determination of the Supervisor (July 29, 2020). Given that the School provided a response, I closed the appeal. With respect to Mr. Douglas’ request for the agendas and minutes, I also closed SPR20/1250 on July 29th due to the Schools’ response for these records. See SPR20/1250 Determination of the Supervisor (July 29, 2020). Current appeal However, on Sunday, August 2nd, Mr. Douglas petitioned the Supervisor again, indicating that he did not receive the School meeting agendas and minutes. As a result, the current appeal, SPR20/1296, was opened. 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

Charles Gallo SPR20/1296 Page 2 August 6, 2020 In addition, Mr. Douglas states that many schools post their agendas and meeting minutes on their websites; therefore, he contends that the School is not complying with the Open Meeting Law. Mr. Douglas has raised an issue with the accessibly of meeting agendas and meeting minutes and the posting of these records to a government entity’s website. Given that an interpretation of the Open Meeting Law falls within the authority of the Office of the Attorney General (AGO) and not this office, the parties may wish to contact the AGO about this matter. See G. L. c. 30A, § 23. Conclusion On August 5, 2020, the School provided Mr. Douglas with a response and the responsive agendas and meeting minutes. Accordingly, I will consider this administrative appeal closed. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Benjamin Douglas