Lisa Dobson v. Millbury, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20213148)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records December 16, 2021 SPR21/3148 Kerri Sundeen Records Access Officer Millbury Public Schools 12 Martin Street Millbury, MA 01527 Dear Kerri Sundeen: I have received the petition of Lisa Dobson appealing the response of the Millbury Public Schools (School) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On September 9, 2021, Ms. Dobson requested, “ … any correspondence to and/or from and/or between individuals from the Millbury Public School District office occurring between August 19th and September 29th regarding a list of search terms.” Previous Appeal The records sought were the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR21/3045 Supervisor of Records Determination (December 1, 2021). The School provided Ms. Dobson with a response on November 19, 2021. Unsatisfied with that response, Ms. Dobson petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR21/3148, 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); 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. 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

Kerri Sundeen SPR21/3148 Page 2 December 16, 2021 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. The School’s November 19th Response In a November 19, 2021 communication, the School stated “…there was mention that specific pages were not included in the thread of emails. After reviewing the documents that were sent to Ms. Dobson, I only see one discrepancy where the 3rd page of one of the email threads was not attached. Please see the scanned documents pertaining to this page missing.” Current Appeal On December 2, 2021, Ms. Dobson stated, “[t]he email cited in the decision refers to contested records for [different] appeal number[s]…which do not apply to [this current appeal]…[Also,] the school admits to forwarding the email to another party which is not included in the 17 pages of responsive records.” In a conversation between the School and staff member of the Public Records Division, the School confirmed that the “missing” page was sent to Ms. Dobson and that there are no outstanding documents. Accordingly, I will consider this administrative appeal closed. If Ms. Dobson is not satisfied with the resolution of this administrative appeal, please be advised that this office shares jurisdiction with the Superior Court of the Commonwealth. See G. L. c. 66 § 10A(c) (pursuing administrative appeal does not limit availability of applicable judicial remedies). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Lisa Dobson