Judy Brasier v. Medfield, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20220956)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records May 9, 2022 SPR22/0956 Michael La Francesca Director of Finance and Operations Medfield Public Schools 459 Main Street, Third Floor Medfield, MA 02052 Dear Mr. La Francesca: I have received the petition of Judy Brasier 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 April 4, 2022, Ms. Brasier requested “a copy of the collaborative agreement between Medfield and Accept and any amendments” along with numerous other categories of records. The School responded on April 19, 2022, providing a fee estimate. Objecting to the fees, Ms. Brasier appealed, and this case was opened as a result. Status of Requestor Please note that the reason for which a requestor seeks access to or a copy of a public record does not afford any greater right of access to the requested information than other persons in the general public. The Public Records Law does not distinguish between requestors. Access to a record pursuant to the Public Records Law rests on the content of the record and not the circumstances of the requestor. See Bougas v. Chief of Police of Lexington, 371 Mass. 59, 64 (1976). Accordingly, Ms. Brasier’s status as a parent will play no role in a determination as to whether the records should be disclosed or redacted under the Public Records Law. Based on information provided in her appeal petition, it is unclear if Ms. Brasier may have a greater right of access to the responsive records outside the Public Records Law. The parties are encouraged to communicate directly to determine if there is another means affording Ms. Brasier a greater right of access to the responsive records. 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 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

Michael La Francesca SPR22/0956 Page 2 May 9, 2022 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. Att’y 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. 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. Fee Estimates 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 2 (two) 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). Current Appeal In her appeal petition, Ms. Brasier contends that “the response from Medfield came beyond 10 business days April 19, 2022 at 6:51pm.” Additionally, she states that some of the records may be student records.

Michael La Francesca SPR22/0956 Page 3 May 9, 2022 G. L. c. 66, § 10(e) G. L. c. 66, § 10(e) provides that “[a] records access officer shall not charge a fee for a public record unless the records access officer responded to the requestor within 10 business days under subsection (b).” In an email to this office and Ms. Brasier on April 25, 2022, a representative for the School indicates that the School was closed on April 15, 2022, in observance of the Good Friday holiday. This office has reviewed the School’s 2021-2022 School Calendar, available on its website, and confirmed that the School had published that April 15th would be observed as a holiday. Additionally, please note that Monday, April 18, 2022 was a statewide holiday in Massachusetts. Accordingly, where Ms. Brasier submitted her request on April 4, 2022, and the School initially responded on April 19, 2022 by providing a fee estimate under G. L. c. 66, § 10(b), I find the School may assess a fee to produce responsive records. The School’s April 19th Fee Estimate In its April 19, 2022 response, the School states the following: A good faith fee estimate for [Ms. Brasier’s] requested documents is $650.00 (26 hours x $25.00). This will cover the time spent searching for, compiling, segregating, redacting, and/or reproducing the requested records. Based on the School’s response, it is unclear why the School requires 26 hours to provide the responsive records. The School must provide further details regarding the tasks involved and what each task entails, including the time it is allocating to compiling, segregating, redacting and reproducing the requested records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv) (requiring the amount of the fee be reasonable). It is also unclear how many responsive records the School has in its possession, and the amount of time the School estimates it will take to review each record. The School must clarify these matters. Additionally, under the Public Records Law, 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 records, but the fee shall not be more than $25 per hour. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii). Accordingly, the School must confirm whether the hourly rate being used is equal to or less than that of the lowest paid employee with the necessary skills to perform the tasks. As noted above, 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). Accordingly, the School must indicate whether the segregation and redaction is required by law. I understand a staff attorney of the Public Records Division also discussed these matters

Michael La Francesca SPR22/0956 Page 4 May 9, 2022 by phone with a representative of the School on May 3, 2022. For the reasons discussed above, I find the School must revise its fee estimate or provide further explanation of how the fees assessed are consistent with G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). Conclusion Accordingly, the School is ordered to provide Ms. Brasier with a response to her request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten 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: Judy Brasier