Allison Jenkins v. Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District (SPR 20212616)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records October 21, 2021 SPR21/2616 Eric Tracy Superintendent of Schools Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District 5 School Street Wenham, MA 01984 Dear Superintendent Tracy: I have received the petition of Allison Jenkins appealing the response of the Hamilton- Wenham Regional School District (District) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On August 17, 2021, Ms. Jenkins requested the following: [1] [A copy of] a Muni’s report (or whatever accounting software the district uses) showing all expenses with vendor names and the $ values for FY19, FY20, and FY21 by FY. [2] [T]he total amount of PRE-Paid special education costs (Section 71D. Regional school districts may authorize the prepayment of tuition for a period not exceeding three months ...) for FY17, FY18, FY19, FY20, and FY21 by FY. [3] [T]he total costs of special education for all students receiving special education for FY19, FY20, and FY21 by FY. Using the exact same parameters, please provide me with the total costs of special education for all school choice students only for FY19, FY20, and FY21 by FY. Previous appeal This request was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR21/2200 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (September 13, 2021). SPR21/2200 was closed after this office was notified that the District intended to provide a supplemental response. The District provided a response on September 20, 2021, which included a fee estimate. After payment of the fee, the District provided responsive records on September 30, 2021. Unsatisfied with the District’s responses, Ms. Jenkins petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR21/2616, was opened as a result. 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 Eric Tracy SPR21/2616 Page 2 October 21, 2012 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. Current appeal On September 30, 2021, the District provided responsive records. In her appeal petition, Ms. Jenkins states, “[t]he reports supplied to me by the district regarding special education costs for school choice students is dismal and inadequate. It contains no useful data. . . . The district is either concealing information or derelict in their duties. . . .” In light of the above, it is unclear if the District possesses additional records responsive to the request. The duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the custody of the custodian of records at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)(ii). The District must confirm whether additional records exist. Fee estimate Further in her appeal petition, Ms. Jenkins states the following: My request is for [the District] to simply run reports within the MUNI’s software. As a user of this software (with different data sets), I am fully aware of how easy it is for them to simply run each report. Stating it will take 6 hours is outrageous. [The District] did not provide “an itemized, good faith estimate. . . . I believe the [District] is accessing a fee that exceed the actual cost. ((c) the reasonable fee for reproduction shall not exceed the actual cost of reproducing the record. I believe these reports actual fall under a print out of record’s ((e) the charge for

Superintendent Eric Tracy SPR21/2616 Page 3 October 21, 2012 black and white paper copies or printouts of records of any size susceptible to ordinary means of production shall not exceed .05¢ per page, for both single and double-sided black and white copies or printouts.) On September 20, 2021, the District provided a detailed outline of its fee estimate. On September 22, 2021, Ms. Jenkins notified the District that she had “dropped off a check today for all records.” Subsequently, the District provided responsive records on September 30th. Where it appears Ms. Jenkins has already paid the fee for the production of the responsive records, it is unclear what the basis of her appeal is. Conclusion Accordingly, the District is ordered to provide Ms. Jenkins 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. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Allison Jenkins