Brenda Eckstrom v. Wareham, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20240775)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records March 26, 2024 SPR24/0775 Matthew D’Andrea Superintendent Wareham Public Schools 48 Marion Road Wareham, MA 02571 Dear Superintendent D’Andrea: I have received the petition of Brenda Eckstrom appealing the response of the Wareham 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 February 4, 2024, Ms. Eckstrom requested the following records: [1.] [A] copy of [the] School Department FY25 proposed budget as presented to the Select Board on December 9, 2023 [2.] [C]opies of the following union contracts: The teachers contract, the paraprofessionals contract, the custodial staff/field and grounds contracts, the administrative assistant/secretarial workers’ contracts, the bus drivers union contract, the cafeteria workers contract, and any other union contract negotiated by [the School] [3.] [A] list of students enrolled in each grade; I would like a copy of the bills for any students who live out-of-district to attend school, and any and all contracts / agreements for every child attending out-of district school on a daily basis; I would like a copy of the transportation routes for those out-of district students that Wareham Public Schools Transportation transports on a daily basis; and finally, I would like a copy of every contract with any transportation vendors Wareham uses to transport out-of-district students on a daily basis. Prior Appeal This request was the subject of a prior appeal. See SPR24/0550 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (March 4, 2024). In my March 4th determination, it was my understanding that the School intended to provide a further response to Ms. Eckstrom. The School responded 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 Matthew D’Andrea SPR24/0775 Page 2 March 26, 2024 on March 12, 2024, providing a fee estimate. Unsatisfied with the response, Ms. Eckstrom petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR24/0775, was opened as a result. 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 estimate – 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 (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). 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).

Superintendent Matthew D’Andrea SPR24/0775 Page 3 March 26, 2024 The School’s March 12th response In its March 12, 2024 response, the School gave an estimate of $337.50 and stated, “[the School has] waived the two hours I worked to organize and the seven hours for bills and contracts. It took an additional 13.5 hours to complete [Ms. Eckstrom’s] request for a total of $337.50.” The School broke down its fee estimate as follows: Item Description Prepared by Amount 1 Bills/Contracts for H.O./Business Office waived OOD –Transportation = 7.0 hours 2 Enrollment A.s. Superintendent $100.00 Numbers/OOD Office = 4 hours enrollment and redacting 3 OOD Transportation M.R. Transportation $175.00 Routes, vendors Dept = 7 hours 4 Collective Bargaining J.W. Superintendent $62.50 Agreements, = 2.5 hours redacting 5 Request Coord/non M.D. Superintendent waived union Office = 2 hours positions/Redact 6 7 Copies $.10 per copy waived $337.50 Current appeal In her appeal, Ms. Eckstrom states, “I was seeking several items that related to items in the school department budget. Initially, [the School] gave me the price of $450. I directed him to MGL. c. 66, and cited him the sections relating to ‘good faith estimate.’ He chose not to respond in kind, but rather showed me work he had already done that he would not charge me for, and estimated the rest would take 5 hours at $25/hour, but if it took less time, he would charge me less… There should be nothing redacted in a union agreements or non-union contracts, and it is inconceivable that there is no student-count to grade list that is available that doesn’t need to have names or other sensitive information redacted just to get a student count… am willing to pay what I agreed to: $125 or less.” Although the School has estimated that the process of compiling, reviewing, and preparing requested records requires 13.5 hours to produce responsive records, it is not clear from the School’s estimate how much time is allocated to search, and how much time is allocated for segregation and/or redaction of the records. Further, the School must provide additional information regarding the tasks involved in producing these records. Accordingly, the

Superintendent Matthew D’Andrea SPR24/0775 Page 4 March 26, 2024 School must provide further details regarding its fee estimate. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv) (requiring the amount of the fee be reasonable). Additionally, 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 this. Further, the School’s fee estimate lacks confirmation that the rate per hour is of the lowest paid employee who is capable of performing the task(s). I encourage Ms. Eckstrom and the School to communicate further in order to facilitate producing records efficiently and affordably. Ms. Eckstrom may wish to narrow the parameters or include 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) (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). Conclusion Accordingly, the School is ordered to provide Ms. Eckstrom 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. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Brenda Eckstrom