Robert J. Allison v. Medfield, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20220582)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records March 17, 2022 SPR22/0582 Jeffrey Marsden Superintendent of Schools Medfield Public Schools 459 Main Street Medfield, MA 02052 Dear Superintendent Marsden: I have received the petition of Robert Allison appealing the response of the Medfield Public Schools (School) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On February 22, 2022, Mr. Allison requested five categories of records regarding various communications, letters, memoranda, and attachments used by School Committee members on February 10 and 11, 2022, respectively. The School provided a fee estimate on February 28, 2022. Unsatisfied with the School’s response, Mr. Allison petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR22/0582, 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 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 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

Jeffrey Marsden SPR22/0582 Page 2 March 17, 2022 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 February 28th Response On February 28, 2022, the School stated, “I am in receipt of your Public Records Request dated Tuesday, February 22, 2022. A good faith fee estimate for your requested documents is $100.00 (4 X $25.00). This will cover the time spent searching for, compiling, segregating, redacting, and/or reproducing the requested records. Some of the records you have requested may not exist.” Current Appeal In his current appeal, Mr. Allison stated, “An estimate of $100 for four hours of ‘the time spent searching for, compiling, segregating, redacting, and/or reproducing the requested records’ is egregious and not a “reasonable” charge under the law given the circumstances that the records were readily available and very recently used.” I find it unclear how the School calculated its estimate. Specifically, it is unclear how the School requires four hours to complete the tasks associated with the respective records. The School must clarify the tasks involved in searching for, segregating, redacting, and producing the records. Further, the hourly rate of the lowest-paid employee capable of reviewing the records is also unclear. The School must clarify these matters. Please be advised, the School may not charge for segregating and redacting records unless it is required by law or a petition has been filed and approved by the Supervisor of Records. G.L. c. 66, § 10(d); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Allison 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: Robert Allison