Commonwealth Transparency v. Weymouth, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20240923)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records April 9, 2024 SPR24/0923 Eileen Pitts Executive Assistant to the Superintendent Weymouth Public Schools 111 Middle Street Weymouth, MA 02189 Dear Ms. Pitts: I have received the petition of Commonwealth Transparency (“requestor”) appealing the response of the Weymouth 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 26, 2024, the requestor sought, “[a]ny and all email communications which contains ‘1367661’ (without quotes) and/or ‘1367661.v1’ (also without quotes) including any attachments.” The School responded on March 27, 2024. Unsatisfied with the response, the requestor petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR24/0923, 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. See 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. 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

Eileen Pitts SPR24/0923 Page 2 April 9, 2024 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 27th Response In its March 27th response, the School stated, “Weymouth Public Schools requires that all public records requests be submitted via the Town of Weymouth’s public records request system.” Pursuant to 950 C.M.R. 32.06, “requests for public records may be made orally in person to a records access officer or custodian or may be written. . . . [W]ritten requests may be delivered by a requester to the business address or designated website or email address of a records access officer or custodian: 1. by hand; 2. by mail; 3. by electronic mail; or 4. by facsimile, if custodian has facsimile access.” See 950 C.M.R. 32.06(a), (c). Consequently, where the requestor submitted the request via electronic mail, it is unclear why the School requires that requests be submitted through the portal before producing responsive records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a) (records must be provided without unreasonable delay). Based on the foregoing, I find that the School has not met its burden in responding to this request under the Public Records law. Conclusion Accordingly, the School is ordered to provide the requestor 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. The requestor 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: Commonwealth Transparency