Commonwealth Transparency v. Easthampton, City of - Public Schools (SPR 20212773)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records November 5, 2021 SPR21/2773 Sarah Mochak Director of Special Education Easthampton Public Schools 50 Payson Avenue Easthampton, MA 01027 Dear Ms. Mochak: I have received the petition of Commonwealth Transparency appealing the response of the Easthampton Public Schools (School) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On October 13, 2021, the requestor sought the following: 1. Any and all public records requests seeking public records of [the] school(s), and/or district(s). 2. All metadata from the requests in #1 above including all contact information of the requestor, including but not limited to emails and text messages. 3. All electronic communications regarding #1 above including but not limited to emails and text messages. 4. All responses, appeals, fee requests and responsive records resulting from the requests in #1 above. The School provided a fee estimate on October 21, 2021. Objecting to the fees, the requestor petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR21/2773, 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 ($.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 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

Sarah Mochak SPR21/2773 Page 2 November 5, 2021 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 October 21st fee estimate In its October 21, 2021 fee estimate, the School indicates that it has “. . . determined that it would take approximately 30 hours to locate and copy the requested documents. In accordance with the Public Records Law, the hourly fee assessed cannot exceed $25.00 per hour. For communities with a population of more than 20,000, the hourly fee for the first two hours is waived. The lowest paid person in the office of the [School] who could perform this task . . . makes $21.16 per hour. [The School] estimate[s] it would take 30 hours to perform the task. [The School] anticipate[s] that there will be approximately 100 pages of copies at a charge of $0.05 per page, and there would be approximately 300 pages of computer printout copies at a charge of $0.05 per page consistent with the law.” The School indicates that it has “. . . determined that it would take approximately 30 hours to locate and copy the requested documents.” However, it is unclear how the School requires 30 hours to perform these tasks. The School must provide additional information explaining why the estimated amount of time is required and what these tasks entail. Also the School’s estimate does not make clear how many hours are being allocated to locating and copying of the records. The School must clarify this matter. In the appeal petition, the requestor states “[t]he RAO is attempting to charge for copies and printouts. The request specifically seeks electronic documents.” In light of this claim, it is unclear how the School may assess a fee for printing. The School must clarify this issue. Conclusion Accordingly, the School is ordered to provide the requestor 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.

Sarah Mochak SPR21/2773 Page 3 November 5, 2021 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Commonwealth Transparency