Marion J. King v. Hadley, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20220200)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records February 4, 2022 SPR22/0200 Dee Rex Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent Hadley Public Schools 125 Russell Street Hadley MA, 01035 Dear Ms. Rex: I have received the petition of Marion King appealing the response of the Hadley Public Schools (School) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On January 16, 2022, Ms. King requested, “Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Letter(s) of Finding for complaint PRS 4901, redacted of any confidential information.” Previous Appeal The records sought by Ms. King were the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR22/0131, Supervisor of Records Determination (January 21, 2022). There, I closed the administrative appeal because the School provided a supplemental response on January 21, 2022. Unsatisfied with the substantive nature of the supplemental response, Ms. King petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR22/0200, 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 agency or municipality 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 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

Dee Rex SPR22/0200 Page 2 February 4, 2022 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. The School’s January 21st Response On January 21, 2022, the School stated, “attached, please find a redacted version of the document you requested. Please note that the total charge for compiling this request is: $14.93.” Current Appeal In her current appeal, Ms. King stated, “I asked for a fee estimate before providing the record. The attorney for the [School] instead sent me both the redacted document and a request for payment at the same time.” Given that Ms. King received the requested records, the basis of Ms. King’s appeal is unclear. In compliance with the Public Records Law, the Supervisor of Records may only issue determinations where a violation of G. L. c. 66, § 10 has occurred. G. L. c. 66, § 10A(a). It is uncertain whether Ms. King is alleging a violation of G. L. c. 66, § 10. Conclusion Ms. King is reminded that all petitions for appeal “shall specifically describe the nature of the requestor's objections to the response or failure to timely respond.” 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1)(f). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Marion King