Commonwealth Transparency v. Mohawk Trail Regional School District (SPR 20240924)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records April 10, 2024 SPR24/0924 Karen Totman Executive Secretary to the Superintendent Mohawk Trail Regional School District 24 Ashfield Road Shelburne Falls, MA 01370 Dear Ms. Totman: I have received the petition of Commonwealth Transparency (“requestor”) appealing the response of the Mohawk Trail Regional School District (District) 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 District responded on March 27, 2024. Unsatisfied with the response, the requestor petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR24/0924, 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

Karen Totman SPR24/0924 Page 2 April 10, 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 District’s March 27th Response In its March 27, 2024 response, the District stated, “[t]o assure this isn’t an AI bot, please provide a photo ID before we work on your request.” Identity or Status of Requestor Please note that the Public Records Law does not distinguish between requestors. Access to a record pursuant to the Public Records Law rests on the content of the record and not the circumstances of the requestor. Given this, the requestor may not be required to identify himself or herself as a condition of obtaining access to the requested records. See Bougas v. Chief of Police of Lexington, 371 Mass. 59, 64 (1976) (“the statute . . . extends the right to examine public records to ‘any person’ whether intimately involved with the subject matter of the records he seeks or merely motivated by idle curiosity”). Accordingly, in this case, the requestor’s status will play no role in a determination as to whether the records should be disclosed or redacted under the Public Records Law. Based on the foregoing, I find that the District has not met its burden in responding to this request under the Public Records law. Conclusion Accordingly, the District 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 District’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Commonwealth Transparency