Ben Douglas v. Lynn, City of - Public Schools (SPR 20201905)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records October 20, 2020 SPR20/1905 Charlie Gallo City of Lynn Public Schools 100 Bennett St. Lynn, MA 01905 Dear Mr. Gallo: I have received the petition of Ben Douglas appealing the response of Lynn Public School District (District) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Douglas contends he requested “documents that contained the job description, current titles, and salary for the year that ended on July 31, 2020” for a current employee of the Lynn Classical High School. Having received no response, Mr. Douglas petitioned this office. 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); 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). To meet the specificity requirement a custodian must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. 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

Charlie Gallo SPR20/1905 Page 2 October 20, 2020 Order The District has indicated they have no record of ever receiving Mr. Douglas’s initial request. Nevertheless, the District has indicated they are willing to provide Mr. Douglas with a response. Accordingly, said response must be made in a manner consistent with the Public Records Law and its Regulations as soon as is 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. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Ben Douglas