Corey Spaulding v. Northampton School Committee (SPR 20232671)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records November 20, 2023 SPR23/2671 Dr. Portia Bonner Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations Northampton School Committee 15 Parker Road Shrewsbury, MA 01545 Dear Dr. Bonner: I have received the petition of Corey Spaulding appealing the response of the Northampton School Committee (Committee) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On October 19, 2023, Ms. Spaulding requested: [1.] For the past 5 years: all federal and state grants that Northampton has received and please include specific details such as the names and dates of who applied for, corresponded with, was granted, etc. Please provide any and all information regarding how the grants were accounted for - approved, controlled, invoices, receipts for what goods and services were funded by each grant, etc. [2.] Please provide the credentials for Sped Director…and Grants Coordinator… On October 19, 2023, the Committee provided Ms. Spaulding with a fee estimate. Unsatisfied with the response, Ms. Spaulding petitioned the Supervisor of Records and this appeal, SPR23/2657, was opened as a result. Fee Estimates 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 hours of employee time to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce the record or records requested unless the municipality 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

Dr. Portia Bonner SPR23/2671 Page 2 November 20, 2023 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). 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 Committee’s October 19th Fee Estimate In its October 19, 2023 response, the Committee provided a fee estimate of $625.00. In its response, the Committee states: With respect to the records you are requesting, it is uncertain how long it will take to locate and provide to you all of the records that you are seeking as many are in storage and not easily accessible. At this time, it is reasonably anticipated that it would take over 10 days for the School Department to search for, collect and segregate all grant information… Time spent segregating or redacting information exempt from disclosure. The lowest paid person capable of performing this work is paid in excess of $25.00 per hour. Therefore, charges for segregating and redacting will be at a rate of $25.00 per hour. The Committee further breaks down the estimate as follows: It is estimated that the time spent reviewing and redacting information exempt from disclosure will be much more time intensive, with at least five (5) hours per year; the current estimate is $625.00. Please note, also, that [the School] charges labor fees associated with the time spent scanning paper records to PDF or electronic form or copying paper documents. It also charges 0.5 cents per paper copy. The anticipated labor costs of scanning/copying is $25.00 per hour. While it is unknown how many pages of documents will be scanned or copied, please note that it takes about 5 minutes of labor per 100 pages, or $2.08 per 100 pages. So, [Ms. Spaulding] can anticipate that you will be charged $2.08 in labor costs for every 100 pages of documents that need to be processed. [Ms. Spaulding] will also be charged the cost associated with any USB or other device provided to you that is used to store the minutes you request. A USB with 64GB of storage is typically around $10.00.

Dr. Portia Bonner SPR23/2671 Page 3 November 20, 2023 In its fee estimate, the Committee stated that it will assess a $625.00 fee, however, it is unclear how many hours will be spent searching, segregating, redacting or reproducing the records. The Committee must provide further details regarding the tasks involved, including the time it is allocating to compiling, segregating, redacting and reproducing the requested records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv) (requiring the amount of the fee be reasonable). Also, the Committee must clarify if the first free 2 hours to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce records have been included in the estimate. 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). Further, I find the Committee must clarify if the redactions are required by law, and state the applicable statutes, if any. Pursuant to the Public Records Law, a fee may 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)(ii); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). The Committee must clarify this matter. Please be advised, a custodian cannot charge a requestor for the time it takes to search for responsive records based on the organization and management of its records. Public records must be maintained and kept in a manner that allows access by the public, as they are subject to mandatory disclosure upon request. G. L. c. 66, § l0(a); see G. L. c. 66, § l2; see also Reinstein v. Police Comm’r of Boston, 378 Mass. 281, 289-90 (1979). I encourage Ms. Spaulding and the Committee to communicate in order to facilitate producing records efficiently and affordably. Ms. Spaulding may wish to narrow the parameters or include applicable time periods or factors to enable the search to be processed. G. L. c. 66, § l0(a)(i). The Committee must use its knowledge of the records to facilitate providing any responsive records. G. L. c. 66, § l0(a)(vii) (an agency or 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 agency or municipality to produce records sought more efficiently and affordably). Based on the above, I find the Committee must revise its fee estimate or provide further explanation of how the fee assessed in its October 19th estimate is consistent with G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). Conclusion Accordingly, the Committee is ordered to provide Ms. Spaulding 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 the response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us.

Dr. Portia Bonner SPR23/2671 Page 4 November 20, 2023 Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Corey Spaulding