Gina Castiello v. Revere, City of - Public Schools (SPR 20202374)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records December 15, 2020 SPR20/2374 Superintendent Dianne Kelly City of Revere Public Schools 101 School St. Revere, MA 02151 Dear Superintendent Kelly: I have received the petition of Gina Castiello appealing the response of the City of Revere (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on October 6, 2020, Ms. Castiello requested the “all city council e-mails relative to the motions that were put forth regarding the implementation of halal and kosher diets in the Revere Public Schools during the Revere City Council meetings on September 12, 2016 and December 5, 2016.” Unsatisfied with the City’s response, Ms. Castiello petitioned this office and this appeal 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); 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. 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

Superintendent Dianne Kelly SPR20/2374 Page 2 December 15, 2020 Current Appeal The City’s response In their December 1st response, a representative from the City provided a copy of a response sent to Ms. Castiello on September 4, 2019 containing responsive records. Further, the City explained that “the School Department has its own designated Records Access Officer (RAO) and the requestor should direct such requests to the School Department RAO.” The District’s December 15th Response In response to Ms. Castiello’s request, the Revere Public School District (District) replied on December 15, 2020 confirming the City’s September 4th response contains all responsive records. Under the Public Records Law, the District is not required to create a record in response to a public records request. See G. L. c. 66, § 6A(d). The duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the possession, custody, or control of the custodian of records at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)(ii). As a result, I will consider this appeal closed. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Gina Castiello Ashley E. Melnik