Thomas Karis v. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (SPR 20211741)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records July 21, 2021 SPR21/1741 Lisa Lescarbeau Records Access Officer Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Facilities Management Office 375 Church Street North Adams, MA 01247 - 4124 Dear Ms. Lescarbeau: I have received your petition on behalf of the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (College) seeking an extension of time to produce records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). As required by law, it is my understanding that the College furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor, Thomas J. Karis. Id. In a letter dated July 1, 2021, Mr. Karis requested identified emails or other written communication “exchanged between representatives from student accounts, financial aid, the registrar, the dean of enrollment, and other administrators involved in the financial aid process between October 1, 2018 and September 31, 2019.” Petition for an Extension of Time Under the Public Records Law, upon a showing of good cause, the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) may grant a single extension to an agency not to exceed 20 business days and a single extension to a municipality not to exceed 30 business days. In determining whether there has been a showing of good cause, the Supervisor shall consider, but shall not be limited to considering: (i) the need to search for, collect, segregate or examine records; (ii) the scope of redaction required to prevent unlawful disclosure; (iii) the capacity or the normal business hours of operation of the agency or municipality to produce the request without the extension; (iv) efforts undertaken by the agency or municipality in fulfilling the current request and previous requests; (v) whether the request, either individually or as part of a series of requests from the same requestor, is frivolous or intended to harass or intimidate the agency or municipality; and (vi) the public interest served by expeditious disclosure. 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

Lisa Lescarbeau SPR21/1741 Page 2 July 21, 2021 G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). Current Petition In its July 14th petition, the College seeks “…an extension of time to furnish copies of records described in the attached public records request for records pertaining to email and written communications relative to the requester.” The College request “…an extension of 20 days due to the following reasons: 1. The scope and the breadth of the records places an undue burden on the College’s operations to produce in the allowable timeframe; 2. The nature of the records will require both information technology efforts and resources as well as financial aid office research and review; 3. An initial search of these emails based on search terms has produced nearly 1,000 discrete records that will require individual review. Of these records, 15 are in a foreign language requiring translation.” In the July 14th petition, the College states, “I provided my initial response to the requester as of July 2, 2021 and will continue to assist him with the FERPA portion of his request with the College’s Financial Aid Office. As well, I am not seeking fees to generate the records responsive to this request.” Conclusion In light of the above, I find the College has established good cause to permit an extension of time. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(i)-(iv). I hereby grant the College an extension of 20 business days to furnish copies of records responsive to Mr. Karis’s request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). To the extent possible, the College must provide responsive records on a rolling basis. Further, this office encourages Mr. Karis and the College to continue to communicate to facilitate providing records more efficiently and affordably. Please note, Mr. Karis has the right to seek judicial review of this decision by commencing a civil action in the appropriate superior court. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(4),10A(c). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Thomas J. Karis