Martin Y. Benson v. Acton-Boxborough Regional School District (SPR 20230114)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records February 10, 2023 SPR23/0114 Andrew Shen Records Access Officer Acton-Boxborough Regional School District 15 Charter Road Acton, MA 01720 Dear Mr. Shen: I have received the petition of Martin Y. Benson appealing the response of the Acton- Boxborough Regional School District (School) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On January 21, 2021, Mr. Benson requested documents regarding the School Committee’s decision to retire the Colonial mascot. Previous appeals The requested records were the subject of previous appeals. See SPR21/1827 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (August 5, 2021); SPR21/3018 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (November 29, 2021); SPR22/0173 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (February 7, 2022); SPR22/1198 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (June 7, 2022) and SPR22/2138 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (September 30, 2022). The School responded on October 17, 2022. Unsatisfied with the response, Mr. Benson petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR23/0114, was opened as a result. Fees -Municipalities 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. 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

Andrew Shen, SPR23/0114 Page 2 February 10, 2023 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 how 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). Petitions relating to fees must be submitted to the Supervisor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4)(g). The School’s Fee Estimate On June 22, 2022, the School provided an additional fee estimate of $224.00 and stated as follows: It is estimated that there may be approximately 300 texts to be searched in this category. This would be 300 texts x .75 minutes = 225 minutes divided by 60 minutes = 3.75 hours x $25 = $93.75 It is estimated that there may be 250 additional emails to be searched … This would be 250 emails x 1.25 minutes = 312.5 minutes divided by 60 minutes = 5.21 hours x $25 = $130.25 In its prior response, the School advised that the fee of $224.00 was the result of the many hours it took to search the word “colonial” and reminded Mr. Benson that “[t]he actual cost of producing the records may be different once the District begin the assembly…” The School further advised Mr. Benson that he was not charged for the additional 18 hours the School had incurred for the previous request. Current appeal In his January 15, 2023 appeal, Mr. Benson asserted that the fee estimate of $224.00 was not made in good faith and further advised that, “[t]he District’s insistence of an additional fee of $224 is nothing more than an attempt to orchestrate an act of acceptance to a new contract which deceitfully redefines the search terms of our previous agreement.” It is unclear why the School did not take into consideration the 300 texts and the 250 additional emails to be searched at the initial time the request was made on January 21, 2021. In its October 17, 2022 response, the School states, “[w]hich parts of your request were not fully completed after 65 hours of labor had been completed. Specifically, portions of Item #10 and

Andrew Shen, SPR23/0114 Page 3 February 10, 2023 Item #11.” In its February 4, 2021 response, the School identifies the texts and emails. As the initial request included Items #10 and #11, it is unclear how the School may now request an additional charge for these records, especially in light of the fact that Mr. Benson already paid $1,187.00 for the School to complete his request. The School must clarify. Conclusion Accordingly, the School is ordered to provide Mr. Benson with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law, and its Regulations within 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, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Martin Y. Benson