Talia Berkowitz v. Northbridge, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20220619)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records March 21, 2022 SPR22/0619 Kayleigh Poudrier Records Access Officer Northbridge Public Schools 87 Linwood Avenue Whitinsville, MA 01588 Dear Ms. Poudrier: I have received the petition of Talia Berkowitz appealing the response of the Northbridge Public Schools (School) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On December 6, 2021, Ms. Berkowitz requested, “grant funding for the past 10 school years that the School has acquired, specifically: [the t]itle of [the] grant[;] [a]mount of [the] grant[;] [a]pplicant of [the] grant[, and;] [w]hat each grant was used for.” Previous Appeal The records sought by Ms. Berkowitz were the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR21/3269 Supervisor of Records Determination (December 28, 2021). There, I ordered the School to clarify whether it possesses responsive records. The School responded on January 6, 2022 and February 15, 2022, respectively, suggesting that Ms. Berkowitz narrow the scope of her request. On February 22, 2022, Ms. Berkowitz narrowed her request, which states: “in the school years [2016-2021], what grants were applied for and by whom? What grants were approved? What grants were denied? Of the awarded grants, what was that money then used for?” The School provided a response and fee estimate on March 15, 2022. Unsatisfied with the School’s response, Ms. Berkowitz petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR22/0619, 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). 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

Kayleigh Poudrier SPR22/0619 Page 2 March 21, 2022 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 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 March 15th Fee Estimate In its March 15, 2022 fee estimate, the School provided the following table outlining its estimate: Item Estimated Time Rate Estimated Cost Search and 7 hours $25.00 per hour $175.00 compilation time Credit for first two 2 hours $25.00 per hour ($50.00) hours of time Total estimated cost 5 hours $25.00 per hour $125.00 The School also stated, “please be advised that the time for compilation time is based on the actual amount of time it has taken to compile documents responsive to this request in order to provide you with the most accurate fee estimate possible.” Based on the School’s response, I find that its fee estimate is not clear. Specifically, it is unclear what tasks were involved in compiling the records and how long the School spent on each task. The School must clarify these matters. Conclusion Accordingly, the School is ordered to provide Ms. Berkowitz 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.

Kayleigh Poudrier SPR22/0619 Page 3 March 21, 2022 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Talia Berkowitz