Corey Spaulding v. Uxbridge, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20233092)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records January 8, 2024 SPR23/3092 Superintendent Mike Baldassarre Uxbridge Public Schools 9 North Main Street Uxbridge, MA 01569 Dear Superintendent Baldassarre: I have received the petition of Corey Spaulding appealing the response of the Uxbridge 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 December 13, 2023, Ms. Spaulding requested, “any and all information on how the [the School] has controlled federal and states grants for the past 10 years” and specified the following: [1]. Any and all grants accepted by the school committee documents via minutes by Uxbridge School Committee [2.] The names of all Uxbridge staff involved in the applications, acceptance, appropriation of federal and state grants from the state and federal agencies [3.] The names of all staff involved in the application and acceptance, appropriation of federal and state grants from the state and federal agencies [4.] All images of grants including the invoice number, the materials/services each grant was applied for and awarded for [5.] How many No Trespass Orders were issued by any member of the Uxbridge School District and what due process procedures were offered and/or conducted [6.] How many residency investigations per MGL c. 76 s5 were conducted by any member of the Uxbridge School District on behalf of the School Committee – what due process procedures were offered and conducted. The School responded on December 21, 2023, providing a fee estimate. Unsatisfied with the School’s response, Ms. Spaulding petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR23/3092, was opened as a result. 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

Superintendent Mike Baldassarre SPR23/3092 Page 2 January 8, 2024 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); 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). To meet the specificity requirement a custodian must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. 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 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). The School’s December 21st Fee Estimate In its December 21, 2023 response, the School provided a fee estimate of $925.00, and stated, “[i]t is estimated the process will take 37 hours to research/copy/extract and redact the requested information at a rate of $25.00, that being the lowest paid employee in the office capable of performing the task. Total estimated cost is $925.00.”

Superintendent Mike Baldassarre SPR23/3092 Page 3 January 8, 2024 Although the School has estimated that the process of compiling, reviewing, and preparing requested records requires 37 hours to produce responsive records, it is unclear how the School requires this many hours to produce responsive records. As such, the School must provide additional information regarding the tasks involved, and indicate how many hours it is allocating for copying and/or redacting the records. Additionally, the School must clarify if the 37 hours includes the first free 2 hours to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce records. 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, based on the School’s response, I find the School 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 School must clarify. In addition, the School indicates that it will charge a fee to “research” and “extract[.]” However, it is unclear how the School may assess a fee for research and extraction under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii). I find the School must provide additional information explaining how these tasks, constitutes time to search for, compile, segregate, redact, or reproduce records and how it is chargeable under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii). See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv) (requiring the amount of the fee be reasonable). For the reasons discussed above, I find the School must revise its fee estimate or provide further explanation of how the fee assessed in its December 21st estimate is consistent with G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). I encourage Ms. Spaulding and the School to communicate further 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 School must use its knowledge of the records to facilitate providing any responsive records. G. L. c. 66, § l0(a)(vii) (a 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 municipality to produce records sought more efficiently and affordably). Conclusion Accordingly, the School 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

Superintendent Mike Baldassarre SPR23/3092 Page 4 January 8, 2024 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: Corey Spaulding