Nathaniel Adams v. Boston, City of - Public Schools (SPR 20231914)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William FrancisGalvin,Secretary oftheCommonwealth PublicRecords Division ManzaArthur SupervisorofRecords August 30,2023 SPR23/1914 ShawnA.Williams, Esq. DirectorofPublic Records RecordsAccess Officer CityofBoston OneCity HallSquare Boston,MA02201 DearAttorney Williams: Ihave receivedthepetition of NathanielAdamsappealing the responseofthe Boston PublicSchools (School)to a requestfor public records.SeeG. L.c.66,§10A; see also950 C.M.R.32.08(1). OnMay2,2023,Mr.Adams requestedthefollowing recordsrelated to the BPS examschool admissions forstudents entering in the2022-2023schoolyear: (1) Alldata andinformation thatwere providedbyBPS to Ernst & Young(EY) forthe purposeofconducting EY’saudit of theexamschool admission calculations/results. (2) Allwork product thatwas generatedbyEY in connectionwith its above- describedaudit services,including(but not limitedto)anyfinal audit report deliveredbyEYto theCity/BPS. (3) Allcorrespondence betweenanyEY personnel andanyBPS personnel relatingto theabove-describedaudit and audit services. OnApril18,2023,Mr.Adams modifiedhisrequest to include,“...copiesofany minutes andother writtendocumentation(includingnotestaken byparticipants) documentingthe substance oftelephonic/oral discussionsbetweenBPS andEY that took place duringtheperiod January throughMay2022.” TheSchool responded onAugust 17,2023.Unsatisfiedwith theresponse, Mr.Adams petitioned thisofficeand thisappeal, SPR23/0914, wasopened asa result. One AshburtonPlace,Room 1719,Boston,Massachusetts 02108•(617) 727-2832• Fax: (617)727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre•pre@sec.state.ma.us

ShawnA.Williams, Esq. SPR23/1914 Page2 August 30,2023 The PublicRecords Law ThePublic RecordsLaw strongly favors disclosurebycreatinga presumption that all governmental recordsare public records.G.L.c. 66,§10A(d); 950C.M.R.32.03(4).“Public records”is broadly definedto includeall documentary materialsor data,regardlessof physical formorcharacteristics, made orreceived byanyofficer oremployee ofanyagency or municipalityof theCommonwealth, unless fallingwithin astatutory exemption.G. L.c.4,§ 7(26). Itisthe burdenof therecordscustodianto demonstrate theapplicationof anexemptionin order to withholdarequested record.G.L.c. 66,§10(b)(iv);950C.M.R. 32.06(3);see alsoDist. Attorneyfor theNorfolk Dist.v.Flatley,419Mass.507,511(1995) (custodianhasthe burdenof establishingthe applicability ofanexemption).To meetthespecificity requirementacustodian mustnot only citean exemption,butmust alsostatewhy theexemptionappliesto thewithheld orredacted portionof theresponsive record. The School’s August17thResponse InitsAugust 17,2023response,the Schoolstated, “[m]any recordswereprovided andit is unclearwhatifanyother recordsremain to provide.I askthat youconsider filinganew request tocoverany additionalmaterials and that requestwill bepromptly reviewedupon receipt.” Current appeal Inhis appeal, Mr.Adamsstates,“[o]n August17,2023,theCity closedmy records request again,stating that itwas “unclearwhat ifanyfurtherrecords” wereresponsive to my request, beyondwhatwas includedin theMarch 3,2023response. Asstated,my follow-up request wasfor recordswhoseexistence was reflected inwhat theyprovidedto me- in other words,theirinitial response wasincomplete.I amtherefore filingthis appeal requestingthat the Citybeinstructed to providethematerialsresponsive to my follow-uprequests, whichfall within thescope ofmy initialrequest.” BasedonMr.Adams’s claims,in conjunctionwith theSchool’s response,it is unclearif theSchool possessesanyfurther recordsresponsive tothe request.The dutyto comply with requestsfor recordsextends to thoserecords that exist andare in thepossession, custody,or controlofthecustodian ofrecordsat thetimeof therequest. SeeG.L.c. 66,§10(a)(ii). However,custodiansare expected to usetheirsuperior knowledge oftherecordsin theircustody toassist requestorsin obtaining the desiredinformation. See 950 C.M.R. 32.04(5). Consequently, theSchool mustclarify whetheradditionalrecordsexist. Conclusion Accordingly,theSchool isordered to provide Mr.Adams with aresponse to therequest, providedin amanner consistent with this order,thePublic Records Law, anditsRegulations

ShawnA.Williams, Esq. SPR23/1914 Page3 August 30,2023 withinten(10) business days.A copyofany suchresponse mustbeprovided to thisoffice. Itis preferableto sendanelectronic copyofthis response to thisofficeatpre@sec.state.ma.us.Mr. Adamsmayappeal thesubstantive nature of theSchool’s response withinninety days.See 950 C.M.R.32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur SupervisorofRecords cc:Nathaniel Adams