Jonathan Guzman v. Lawrence, City of - Public Schools (SPR 20230850)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records May 11, 2023 SPR23/0850 Odanis M. Hernandez Chief Operating Officer/Records Access Officer City of Lawrence Public Schools 237 Essex Street Lawrence, MA 01840 Dear Mr. Hernandez: I have received the petition of Jonathan Guzman appealing the response of the City of Lawrence Public Schools (School) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On February 20, 2023, Mr. Guzman requested: “…the financial statement audits for the (School) from 2011 to 2022.” Prior Appeal The responsive records were the subject of a prior appeal. See SPR23/0457 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (March 17, 2023). The School provided Mr. Guzman with responses on February 21, 2023 and March 7, 2023. In its March 7th response, the School states, “…I am responding to your request within the required ten business days. Attached are the PDF’s (12 records) for each year of financial statements that you requested…” On March 29th, the School provided a response indicating, “[a]ttached please find the End-Of-Year Financial Audit Reports [EOY] from 2011-2021. Our FY22 EOY Report has not been completed by our auditor. Once it has been completed, you will receive a copy.” Current Appeal As a result of the School’s March 29th response, Mr. Guzman petitioned the Supervisor, and the current appeal, SPR23/0850 was opened. In Mr. Guzman’s petition, he asserted, “CCO Hernandez of [the School] has once more failed to provide [the requested records]. [The School] has responded with limited audits that Powers and Sullivan, LLC completed which lacked the full [Schools’] end-of-year financial statements audits. [The School] 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

Odanis M. Hernandez SPR23/0850 Page 2 May 11, 2023 willfully denies access to public records and continues to violate General Law-Part 1, Title VII, Chapter 44, Section 40 by failing to comply with the annual regional school audit, proving a copy of the such annual audit to the school committee, mayor, city council, and city clerk, and publishing such audit. Powers and Sullivan, LLC stated on multiple occasions that school district management is responsible for preparing the [EOY] Financial Report, but such an audit entity was not engaged to perform the examination such auditor was able to find discrepancies in multiple limited financial audits within the limited documentation. Through this appeal request once more. I request that the [School’s] management supply me with financial audit reports detailing the district’s [EOY] expenditures and audits from 2011 to 2022 in accordance with the [P]ublic [R]ecords [L]aw and Chapter 44.” 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 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) (written response must “identify any records, categories of records or portions of records that the agency or municipality intends to withhold, and provide the specific reasons for such withholding, including the specific exemption or exemptions upon which the withholding is based…”); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). 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. Mr. Guzman indicates in his April 30, 2023 email petition, which was received by the Supervisor on May 1st, that the School should have further financial information under the requirements in G. L. c. 44, § 40. Based on the School’s March 13th and March 28th responses and Mr. Guzman’s appeal, it is unclear whether the School has additional financial information responsive to Mr. Guzman’s request. The School must clarify this issue. Order Accordingly, the School is ordered to provide Mr. Guzman with a response to his request in a manner consistent with the Public Records Law, and its Regulations within ten (10) business

Odanis M. Hernandez SPR23/0850 Page 3 May 11, 2023 days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of the response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Jonathan Guzman