Mira Belenkiy v. Sharon, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20240845)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records April 3, 2024 SPR24/0845 Meg Dussault, Ed.D. Assistant Supervisor Sharon Public Schools 75 Mountain Street Sharon, MA 02067 Dear Dr. Dussault: I have received the petition of Mira Belenkiy, of Belenkiy Consultants, appealing the response of the Sharon 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 March 7, 2024, Ms. Belenkiy requested: …digital document(s) that contain the names of programs and units being piloted. This includes emails, meeting minutes, spreadsheets, documents, purchase orders, etc. Since I just want the list, this request can be satisfied either by answering my question or providing the first set of documents you find that has all programs and units and states that these are being piloted. On March 20, 2024, the School provided Ms. Belenkiy with a response to her request. Unsatisfied with the School’s response, Ms. Belenkiy petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR24/0845, 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 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. Meg Dussault SPR24/0845 Page 2 April 3, 2024 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. The School’s March 20th Response In its March 20, 2024 response, the School states: …The [School] does not possess documents responsive to your request, as it is not yet piloting any programs or units. Please be advised that by way of the public records request process, the [School] is not required to answer questions, do research, provide information, or create documents. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a); 32 Op. Atty Gen. 157, 165 (May 18, 1977). Notwithstanding this, solely because this information is readily accessible at this time, the [School] responds as follows as to math programs being considered for piloting (no other subject areas have been determined at this time):  Carnegie Learning 2019  Illustrative Math 2020  Reveal [M]ath 2020  Envision Math 2021  Big Ideas Math 2020  Glencoe Math 2020  Open Resources Math  Eureka Math Current appeal In Ms. Belenkiy’s petition to this office, she states, “[t]he March 20 response from the [S]chool states that [t]he [School] does not possess documents responsive to your request, as it is not yet piloting any programs or units. This is surprising because at the March 4, 2024 [S]chool [C]ommittee meeting, multiple [S]chool [C]ommittee members stated that the [S]chool is already piloting math and early literacy curriculum. These two pilots were the justification for maintaining curriculum coordinator positions in the budget…” Further, on March 20th, Ms. Belenkiy emailed the Public Records Division, “I would like to add additional evidence that there are on-going pilots. I posed a question on the main Sharon town Facebook group [page]. Two separate parents said that their children at [an identified elementary school] are piloting an [identified] program…”

Dr. Meg Dussault SPR24/0845 Page 3 April 3, 2024 Based on the School’s response, in conjunction with Ms. Belenkiy’s petition, it is unclear if the School possesses any additional records that may be responsive to the request. The duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the possession, custody, or control of the custodian of records at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)(ii). In accordance with the Public Records Law, custodians are expected to use their superior knowledge of the records in their custody to assist requestors in obtaining the desired information. See 950 C.M.R. 32.04(5). The School must clarify this matter. Conclusion Accordingly, the School is ordered to provide Ms. Belenkiy with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten (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. Ms. Belenkiy may appeal the substantive nature of the School’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Mira Belenkiy