Benjamin Douglas v. Lynn, City of - Public Schools (SPR 20201776)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records September 28, 2020 SPR20/1776 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). Previous Petitions Many of the requests made since June 18, 2020 were the subject of previous petitions. See SPR20/1313 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (August 12, 2020); SPR20/1347 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (August 18, 2020); SPR20/1664 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (September 18, 2020). In my September 18th determination, I found the School had not established how the requests were “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). I also found it unclear for which requests submitted by Mr. Douglas the School needed an extension of time for to produce the responsive records. On September 21, 2020, the School emailed this Office and clarified which requests required an extension. In light of this clarification, the School’s petition for an extension of time for the named requests will be addressed below. 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 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 SPR20/1776 Page 2 September 28, 2020 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. 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 requestor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 36.06(4)(b). Extension of time to produce responsive records In its September 21st response, the School states, “…thank you for advising the Lynn Public Schools District (‘LPS’) to clarify which requests submitted by Mr. Douglas require an extension of time to produce. They listed below and are attached: • LPS Request Form #166 dated September 2, 2020; • LPS Request Form #167 dated September 3, 2020; • LPS Request Form #168 dated September 3, 2020; • LPS Request Form #169 dated September 8, 2020; • LPS Request Form #170 dated September 8, 2020; • LPS Request Form #171 dated September 8, 2020; • LPS Request Form #172 dated September 8, 2020; and • LPS Request Form #173 dated September 8, 2020.” In a subsequent email sent to this office on September 23, 2020, the School indicated “… Public records were able to be provided to the Requestor today in response to Lynn Public

Charles Gallo SPR20/1776 Page 3 September 28, 2020 Schools District (LPS) Request Form #166 dated September 2, 2020, and LPS Request Form #167 dated September 3, 2020.” In its September 21st response the School states “…the 2020-21 LPS School Year began on September 16, 2020. LPS is doing 100% remote learning due to the high occurrence of COVID-19 in the Lynn area. LPS staff throughout the district and in individual schools are busy starting the unprecedented 2020-21 school year at this time, and will have their hands full in the first couple of months following the start of this online school year.” The School also indicates “LPS has received at least twenty-two (22) purported requests for public records from June 18, 2020, through the date of this Petition, from Requestor.” The School explains “[s]ome of the requests listed above will require the participation of the Principal of Lynn Classical High School (‘LCHS’), impeding her focus on the critical start of the 2020-21 school year plans. Other requests will require the participation of LPS’s IT Department and computer staff, which similarly impedes their focus on the new remote learning environment, including laptops for nearly 17,000 students and several thousand staff. Some other requests will require the participation of LPS’s Human Resources Department, which is currently without a director and is overwhelmed with a variety of personnel matters relating to the health of employees due to the high occurrence of COVID-19 in the Lynn area.” 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 5 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 5 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