Ellen Subramaniam v. Wellesley, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20231467)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records July 10, 2023 SPR23/1467 Cynthia D. Mahr Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations Wellesley Public Schools 40 Kingsbury Street Wellesley, MA 02481 Dear Ms. Mahr: I have received the petition of Ellen Subramaniam appealing the response of the Wellesley 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 June 8, 2023, Ms. Subramaniam requested: [1] 2023 Matriculation data (similar to what has previously been provided below by Anne North, including college name and number of matriculations); we will be sure to note an “as-of” date when sharing this data and that a small number of matriculations might be missing (e.g. European schools, late POFGs). I will file another records request for this data at the end of the summer and update accordingly; [2] 2023/24 enrollment number for AP US History; and [3] 2023/24 enrollment number for AP Seminar. On June 23, 2023, the School provided Ms. Subramaniam with a response, including an attached file of the draft matriculation data. In its June 23rd response, the School indicated, “[t]he high school does not provide the number of matriculations as a person could identify the individual student since many of the schools have few [School] seniors attending. The date for 2 and 3 are below: Item 2 – 2023/24 enrollment number for AP US History is 32; Item 3 – 2023/24 enrollment number for AP Seminar is 35” As a result of the School’s June 23rd response, denying a portion of the requested information, Ms. Subramaniam petitioned the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor), and this appeal was opened. In her petition, Ms. Subramaniam asserts, “[t]he request is for the Wellesley High School Class of 2023 matriculation data, including college names and numbers of 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

Cynthia Mahr SPR23/1467 Page 2 July 10, 2023 matriculations per college. The request did not seek student names or any identifying private or personal information.” In addition, Ms. Subramaniam indicates that the School denied the request, but did not claim an exemption in the Public Records Law. 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). Subsequent to the opening of this appeal, in a July 6, 2023 email, Ms. Subramaniam notified this office that the School provided her with the balance of the information she requested on June 8th. Conclusion Accordingly, where the School provided Ms. Subramaniam with the requested records on July 6th, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Ellen Subramaniam