Brian DeLacey v. Mystic Valley Regional Charter School (SPR 20210504)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records March 12, 2021 SPR21/0504 Stephanie Solio Mystic Valley Regional Charter School 4 Laurel Street Malden, MA 02148 Dear Ms. Solio: I have received the petition of Brian DeLacey appealing the response of the Mystic Valley Regional Charter School (School) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On November 2, 2020, Mr. DeLacey requested “. . . a copy of all records published to your MVRCS Facebook page, at the URL . . .” On December 9, 2020, Mr. DeLacey clarified his request and stated “. . . I am interested in ALL of your MVRCS Facebook page records under the following checkbox items for the standard Facebook export function: Posts, Photos and Videos, Events, Stories, Jobs, Groups, Services, Likes and Reactions or Comments.” Previous appeals The requested records were the subject of previous appeals. See SPR20/2259 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (December 2, 2020); SPR20/2521 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (January 5, 2021) and SPR21/0123 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (February 2, 2021). In my February 2nd determination, I directed the School to provide additional information regarding its fee estimate, and clarify whether it is possible to provide the records in a machine-readable format or in their native form. Accordingly, I ordered the School to provide Mr. DeLacey with a response in a manner consistent with the order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations. Subsequently, the School provided a revised fee estimate on February 16, 2021. Objecting to the fees, Mr. DeLacey petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR21/0504, was opened as a result. Fee estimate – municipalities A municipality may assess a reasonable fee for the production of a public record except those records that are freely available for public inspection. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). The fees must reflect the actual cost of complying with a particular request. Id. A maximum fee of five cents 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

Stephanie Solio SPR21/0504 Page 2 March 12, 2021 ($.05) per page may be assessed for a black and white single or double-sided photocopy of a public record. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(i). Municipalities may not assess a fee for the first (two) 2 hours of employee time to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce the record or records requested unless the municipality has 20,000 people or less. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii). Where appropriate, municipalities may include as part of the fee an hourly rate equal to or less than the hourly rate attributed to the lowest paid employee who has the necessary skill required to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce a record requested, but the fee shall not be more than $25 per hour. Id. However, municipalities may charge more than $25 per hour if such rate is approved by the Supervisor of Records under a petition under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). A fee shall not be assessed for time spent segregating or redacting records unless such segregation or redaction is required by law or approved by the Supervisor of Records under a petition under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). The School’s February 16th response In its February 16, 2021 response, the School confirms that it would be able to provide the records in an electronic format. The School further states that “. . . given the volume of the records, the novelty of retrieving data in the Facebook format, and the effort necessary for the School’s IT department to get such records, the School is estimating approximately 8 hours of work for all of the data requested. No one in the hire of the School capable of doing this work makes under $25/hour. Thus we approximate the fee for the requested items to be a total of $150 (with the first two hours free). M.G.L.c.66 §10(d).” Although the School states that it requires 8 hours to produce responsive records it remains unclear how this amount of time is necessary. The School must identify the tasks involved, and provide further details regarding what each task entails. Also, the School’s estimate does not make clear how many hours were allocated to search, segregation, redaction, and/or compilation of the records. Therefore, the School must clarify this estimate. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv) (requiring the amount of the fee be reasonable). Conclusion Accordingly, the School is ordered to provide Mr. DeLacey with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten (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.

Stephanie Solio SPR21/0504 Page 3 March 12, 2021 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Brian DeLacey