Rose Caldarone v. Plymouth, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20241341)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records May 16, 2024 SPR24/1341 Erik W. Cioffi Assistant Superintendent of Schools Plymouth Public Schools 11 Lincoln Street Plymouth, MA 02360 Dear Mr. Cioffi: I have received the petition of Rose Caldarone appealing the response of the Plymouth 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 April 10, 2024, Ms. Caldarone requested: …ELA material costs and communication related to the following areas below… [1.] Units of Study – Presenter Fees including travel fees, cost of food and lodging as applicable for Mossflower, [an identified individual] and affiliated/associated presenters. [2.] Units of Study & Fountas and Pinnell & Renaissance STARS – any and all Curriculum Materials including books, updated units, memberships, online program purchases including assessments, evaluation tools purchases including reading recovery materials. [3.] Units of Study & Reading Recovery – Professional Development costs associated with materials, presentation and presenter. [4.] Any emails from [an identified individual], Teachers College and Mossflower et al. including but not limited to [three identified email addresses]. [5.] All invoices of Purchases and Professional Development related to literacy and curriculum. [6.] Any emails from any other representative of [an identified individual] to district staff. 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

Erik W. Cioffi SPR24/1341 Page 2 May 16, 2024 The School responded on April 25, 2024, providing a fee estimate. Unsatisfied with the response, Ms. Caldarone petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR24/1341, was opened as a result. Fees - Municipalities 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. 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 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 under a petition under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). The School’s April 25th fee estimate In its April 25, 2024 fee estimate, the School assessed a fee of $7,300 to produce responsive records based upon a total of 17,459 records requiring 294 hours of labor. The School stated, with regards to search, segregation, compilation and exporting of all responsive records, “[t]he lowest paid person capable of performing this task earns greater than $25.00 per hour.” The School further stated, “[t]he lowest paid person capable of determining applicability of statutory and common-law exemptions and performing the necessary redactions earns greater than $25.00 per hour.” The School also provided a breakdown of its fee estimate as follows: Total retrieval, compilation, segregation time…4 hours Total review and redaction time (17,459 records times 1 minute per record)…290 hours Total labor time…294 hours Total labor time (294 hours) minus the first two (2) hours…292 hours Total net labor time (292 hours) times $25.00 per hour…$7,300

Erik W. Cioffi SPR24/1341 Page 3 May 16, 2024 Based on the School’s response, it is unclear how the School requires four hours for “. . . retrieval, compilation, [and] segregation…” The School must provide additional information regarding the specific tasks involved and the time allocated to each of these tasks. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv) (requiring the amount of the fee be reasonable). Additionally, it is uncertain if the School is assessing a fee for redactions that are required by law. 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 under a petition under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). Consequently, I find the School must provide information about whether the responsive records contain information that is required by law to be segregated or redacted, as well as the applicable statutes, if any. For the reasons discussed above, I find the School must revise its fee estimate or provide further explanation of how the fee assessed is expressly provided for and consistent with G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). I encourage Ms. Caldarone and the School to communicate in order to facilitate producing records efficiently and affordably. Ms. Caldarone may wish to include applicable time periods or 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. Caldarone with a response to her request, 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. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Rose Caldarone