Benjamin Douglas v. Lynn, City of - Public Schools (SPR 20201347)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records August 18, 2020 SPR20/1347 Charles Gallo Compliance Officer / Records Access Officer (RAO) Lynn Public Schools City of Lynn 100 Bennett Street Lynn, MA 01905 Dear Mr. Gallo: I have received your petition on behalf of the Lynn Public Schools (School) seeking relief from its obligation to produce responsive records or an extension of time to produce records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). As required by law, the School furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). Since August 7, 2020, Ben Douglas requested four categories of records, including salary information of the School’s RAO, as well as various templates and documents. Petitions for an extension of time Under the Public Records Law, upon a showing of good cause, the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) may grant a single extension to an agency not to exceed 20 business days and a single extension to a municipality not to exceed 30 business days. In determining whether there has been a showing of good cause, the Supervisor shall consider, but shall not be limited to considering: (i) the need to search for, collect, segregate or examine records; (ii) the scope of redaction required to prevent unlawful disclosure; (iii) the capacity or the normal business hours of operation of the agency or municipality to produce the request without the extension; (iv) efforts undertaken by the agency or municipality in fulfilling the current request and previous requests; (v) whether the request, either individually or as part of a series of requests from the same requestor, is frivolous or intended to harass or intimidate the agency or municipality; and (vi) the public interest served by expeditious disclosure. 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 SPR20/1347 Page 2 August 18, 2020 G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). If the Supervisor determines that the request is part of a series of contemporaneous requests that are frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass, and the requests are not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, the Supervisor may grant a longer extension or relieve the agency or municipality of its obligation to provide copies of the records sought. Id. - The filing of a petition does not affect the requirement that a Records Access Officer (RAO) shall provide an initial response to a requester within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 36.06(4)(b). Request for relief from obligation to produce responsive records In its August 11, 2020 petition the School “requests that the Supervisor of Records relieve LPS of its obligation to provide copies of records sought by the Requestor… [n]amely, the RAO asks that relief be provided as to the above-mentioned…” The School indicates Mr. Douglas “has submitted at least thirteen separate public records request forms to the Lynn Public Schools District (“LPS”) from June 18, 2020, through the date of this Petition…” The School states they “might be part of a series of requests that may be frivolous and/or designed to intimidate or harass…[a]dditionally, the requests might not be intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity within the meaning of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 66 Section 10.” The School states the following as a basis regarding the statements above: “[t]he Requestor used the email address LCHSstudy@Gmail.com...[w]hen studies do occur, parties requesting public records often utilize an email address associated with an academic institution, rather than a Gmail address; [t]hough LPS does not inquire into the reasoning for, or legitimacy of, such requests, requesting parties often voluntarily explain their purposes at the outset of making requests for academic studies…[t]he Requestor did not do so; [r]equesting parties do not typically submit separate requests for single documents, especially in the case of academic studies…[b]y submitting frequent and unaccumulated requests, the Requestor is impeding the ability of LPS to produce records efficiently and impeding the ability of LPS to estimate and charge fees for time spent searching for, compiling, segregating,redacting, and/or reproducing records…; [t]he same LCHSstudy@Gmail.com email address has been used to send out one or more unauthorized surveys to Lynn Classical High School staff…; [t]he name Ben Douglas might be a pseudonym, potentially used by a former employee of Lynn Classical High School.” The School further states “[t]hough LPS does not inquire into the reasoning for public records requests, the Requestor has volunteered that his goal is ‘getting to the bottom of Classical's (High School) ills’… [t]he four purported public records requests submitted by the Requester on August 7th and 10th following the filing of the First Petition may have nothing to do with ‘getting to the bottom of Classical's (High School) ills.’”

Charles Gallo SPR20/1347 Page 3 August 18, 2020 Based on the information provided in its August 5th correspondence, I find that the School has not established how these requests are “not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity,” as required by G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). Extension of time to produce responsive records In its August 11th petition, the School indicates “[i]n the alternative, the RAO respectfully requests that the Supervisor of Records grant an extension of time in which to respond to the Requestor’s requests.” The School explains “[m]ost LPS staff do not work during the summer months. Given the current circumstances of global pandemic, many of those few staff who continue to work year-round are busy preparing for the unprecedented 2020-21 school year. As a result, an already-busy skeleton crew is left to respond to the Requestor’s requests. For the most part, the School Principal of Lynn Classical High School has had to be the one to personally gather and/or compile documents requested by the Requestor, impeding her focus on the critical 2020-21 school year plans.” I find that in light of the efforts undertaken by the School in fulfilling the previous requests, as well as the capacity of the School to produce the records without an extension, the School has established good cause to permit an extension of time. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(i)-(ii). I hereby grant the School an extension of 15 business days beyond the time allowed in G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vi) (a municipality may provide a timeframe not to exceed 25 business days to produce responsive records). Conclusion For the reasons discussed above, in light of the School’s petition, I find the School has established good cause for a time extension of 15 business days as described above. Please note the requestor has the right to seek judicial review of this decision by commencing a civil action in the appropriate superior court. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Ben Douglas