Joe Ronayne v. Winchester, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20210521)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records March 12, 2021 SPR21/0521 Judith A. Evans, Ed. D. Records Access Officer Winchester Public Schools 40 Samoset road, Winchester, MA 01890 Dear Ms. Evans: I have received the petition of Joe Ronayne appealing the response of the Winchester Public Schools (School) to his request for public records. G. L. c. 66, §10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On February 4, 2021, Mr. Ronayne requested, “…all emails to or from [named person] or anyone that works for her Teachers’ Workshop in the past 2 years.” The School responded on February 8, 2021. Unsatisfied with the response, Mr. Ronayne appealed and SPR21/0521 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 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). Fees -Municipalities 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

Judith A. Evans, Ed.D. SPR2/0521 Page 2 March 12, 2021 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 ($.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 how 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). Petitions relating to fees must be submitted to the Supervisor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4)(g). The School’s February 8th Fee Estimate In its February 8th response, the School states that, “… [t]here were approximately 23,128 documents that fall within your search parameters. The good faith fee estimate associated with the compilation, review, possible redaction, and production of these records is as follows: Item Estimated Time Rate Estimated Cost Review/redaction time 386 hours $25.00 per hour $9,650.00 Credit for first two hours 2 hours $25.00 per hour $50.00 Total estimated cost $9,600.00” The School opined that, “[t]his estimate is based on three hundred and eighty-six (386) hours spent reviewing and redacting the responsive documents. The School estimates that because of the confidential student record and medical information contained in these records, it will take an average of 1 – 1.5 minutes to review and redact each page.” The School further asserted that the records will need to be redacted pursuant to Exemptions (a) and (c) of the Public Records Law. In its fee estimate, the School stated, “[a]lthough the public records law limits the District to assessing a maximum rate of $25.00 per hour, please note that the hourly rate of the lowest-paid employee qualified to complete your request exceeds that rate.”

Judith A. Evans, Ed.D. SPR2/0521 Page 3 March 12, 2021 Based upon the above, it is unclear to what extent the School is charging for segregation and redaction of records that is required by law pursuant to Exemption (a) and to what extent it is charging for segregation and redaction of records not required by law pursuant to Exemption (c). The School must clarify this. Conclusion Accordingly, the School is ordered to provide Mr. Ronayne 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: Joe Ronayne