Celeste DeMarco v. Wellesley, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20201872)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records October 15, 2020 SPR20/1872 Judith Belliveau Assistant Superintendent Wellesley Public Schools Central Administration 40 Kingsbury Street Wellesley, MA 02481 Dear Ms. Belliveau: I have received the petition of Celeste DeMarco appealing the response of the Wellesley Public Schools (School) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on August 28, 2020, Ms. DeMarco requested, “… the documents that support Lussier statement regarding: bomb threats; and any and all correspondence of any kind referred to in these emails.” Unsatisfied with the School’s response, Ms. DeMarco petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR20/1872, was opened as a result. The Public Records Law The Public Records Law strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all governmental records are public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A(d); 950 C.M.R. 32.03(4). “Public records” is broadly defined to include all documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any officer or employee of any town of the Commonwealth, unless falling within a statutory exemption. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26). It is the burden of the records custodian to demonstrate the application of an exemption in order to withhold a requested record. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(iv) (written response must “identify any records, categories of records or portions of records that the agency or municipality intends to withhold, and provide the specific reasons for such withholding, including the specific exemption or exemptions upon which the withholding is based…”); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). 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

Judith Belliveau SPR20/1872 Page 2 October 15, 2020 The School’s Responses In its August 5th response, the School stated, “[h]ere is the response on one of your requests.” In its September 30th response, the School stated, “[t]here are no responsive records to this request.” Despite the School’s responses, it remains unclear if the School possesses any additional records responsive to Ms. DeMarco’s request. The School must clarify whether additional records existed and were permissibly destroyed or if additional records did not exist. Conclusion Accordingly, the School is ordered to provide Ms. DeMarco with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within 10 business days. 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. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Celeste DeMarco