Matthew Simms v. Lawrence, City of - Public Schools (SPR 20240403)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records February 22, 2024 SPR24/0403 Odanis M. Hernandez Chief Operating Officer Records Access Officer Lawrence Public Schools 237 Essex Street Lawrence, MA 01840 Dear Odanis M. Hernandez: I have received the petition of Matthew Simms appealing the response of the 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 January 23, 2024, Mr. Simms requested the following: [T]he metadata for all emails sent to and received by all email accounts that end with @lawrence.k12.ma.us between September 1, 2023 and 1:00pm on January 23, 2024. The only emails [he] would like the metadata for are emails that have the word fraud somewhere in the subject line. For the metadata, please include at a minimum: 1. From address 2. To address 3. bcc addresses 4. cc addresses 5. Time 6. Date 7. Subject line [He] would prefer two documents. One for the sent emails and one for the received emails. ... [He is] seeking all emails that fit the criteria (time frame and keyword) regardless of who sent it and who received it. ... [He is] not requesting the contents of each email. E-mail metadata does not include the contents of the specified e-mails... The School responded on February 6, 2024, providing a fee estimate. Objecting to the fees, Mr. Simms appealed, and this case 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

Odanis M. Hernandez SPR24/0403 Page 2 February 22, 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. 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. Fee Estimates - Municipalities 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 2 (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 February 6th Fee Estimate In its February 6, 2024 response, the School provides a total fee estimate of $2,450, and provides the following information in support of the fees:

Odanis M. Hernandez SPR24/0403 Page 3 February 22, 2024 After a review of [the] request, the City estimates that it would take approximately 72 hours to search and compile the information responsive to [the] request. As the first two (2) hours of time is non-chargeable, the total estimate in order to process this request is $2,450.00, calculated at the rate of [the] lowest- paid employee who can process this request of $35.00/hour. Based on the School’s response, it is unclear why the School requires 72 hours to search for and compile the records. The School must provide further details regarding the tasks involved and what each task entails. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv) (requiring the amount of the fee be reasonable). Under the Public Records Law, 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 records, but the fee shall not be more than $25 per hour. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii). Accordingly, it is unclear how the School may charge a fee of $35 per hour. For the reasons discussed above, I find the School must revise its fee estimate or provide further explanation of how the fees assessed are consistent with G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). Conclusion Accordingly, the School is ordered to provide Mr. Simms with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten 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. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Matthew Simms