Michaela Michaud v. Billerica, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20221814)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records August 18, 2022 SPR22/1814 Robin Hulsoor Director of Finance and Operations Billerica Public Schools 365 Boston Road Billerica, MA 01821 Dear Ms. Hulsoor: I have received the petition of Michaela Michaud, appealing the response of the Billerica Public Schools (School) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On July 16, 2022, Ms. Michaud requested, “…all complaints that this office and Project support received after the lockdown on June 7, 2022 [and] all emails sent to the superintendent, head chair of the school committee, and the Director of Project Support from 6/7/22-present.” On July 29, 2022, the School responded with a fee estimate. Objecting to the fee estimate, Ms. Michaud petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR22/1814, was opened as a result. Fee estimates – 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). 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

Robin Hulsoor SPR22/1814 Page 2 August 18, 2022 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 July 29th fee estimate On July 29, 2022, the School provided the following fee estimate: Time required for IT Director to perform individual search, 2 hours compile emails and reproduce records Time required segregating and redacting emails for private 3 hours student or staff information or HIPPA violations as required by law. See student record statute G.L.c. 71 34D, 34E First 2 hours - no fee assessed (2 hours) Staff time for fee assessment 3 hours Maximum allowed hourly rate under Public Records Law $25.00 Fee required for records response $75.00 Modification of request In an email dated August 13, 2022, Ms. Michaud requested a modification to her initial request. In an email dated August 17, 2022, the School agreed to this modification. In light of Ms. Michaud’s modification of the request, this office encourages both parties to communicate further to enable the School to provide the requested records in an efficient and affordable manner. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vii) (a municipality shall suggest a reasonable modification of the scope of the request or offer to assist the requestor to modify the scope of the request if doing so would enable the municipality to produce records sought more efficiently and affordably). The School may provide a revised fee estimate based on Ms. Michaud’s modified request. Conclusion Accordingly, the School is ordered to provide Ms. Michaud 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. If unresolved issues remain, Ms. Michaud may appeal the substantive nature of the School’s response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1).

Robin Hulsoor SPR22/1814 Page 3 August 18, 2022 Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Michaela Michaud