Commonwealth Transparency v. Lexington, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20241380)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records May 20, 2024 SPR24/1380 Kristin McGrath Executive Administrative Assistant for Human Resources Lexington Public Schools 146 Maple Street Lexington, MA 02420 Dear Ms. McGrath: I have received the petition of Commonwealth Transparency (“requestor”) appealing the response of the Lexington 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 6, 2024, the requestor sought the following: …for the time period January 1, 2018 through April 5, 2024: [1] Any and all contracts, communications, or documents of any kind with the following [identified individuals and addresses;] [2] Any and all payments made to [identified individuals and addresses;] [3] Any and all conflict of interest documents for [identified individuals and addresses;] This request includes but is not limited to email, email-attachments, text messages, calendar entries, voice email messages and/or physical documents. The School responded on May 6, 2024 and May 7, 2024. Unsatisfied with the School’s responses, the requestor petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR24/1380, 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). 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

Kristin McGrath SPR24/1380 Page 2 May 20, 2024 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. Att’y 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. The School’s May 6th and May 7th responses In its May 6, 2024 response, the School asserted, “…we do not have any documents/ records listed in your request.” The requestor inquired if the School was answering on behalf of the School alone or on behalf of both the School and the Town of Lexington (Town). In a further May 6, 2024 response, the School stated it was responding for the School only. On May 7, 2024 the School again asserted, “[t]he [School] responded. If you need information from the Town of Lexington you will need to send it to clerk@lexingtonma.gov.” Current Appeal The requestor argues “…a request to one [records access officer (RAO)] may include records of another division or department within the RAOs’ agency or municipality. RAOs must use their superior knowledge of the records to ensure that a request for records is delivered to the appropriate party. Therefore, an RAO is expected to forward such requests to the appropriate parties within its municipality or agency.” The requestor further stated “…an RAO is expected to forward…requests to the appropriate parties within its municipality or agency…. [T]he [School] is a department of the … Town.” Please be advised, a requestor may petition the Supervisor of Records only after a written request has been made to the RAO of the governmental entity that creates or receives the records. 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1)(a). Further, 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). Where the requestor submitted a request to the School’s RAO, and the School has responded, I find that the School has met its burden in responding to this request and has no duty to forward such request to the Town as the Town has its own separate records access officer. The requestor may wish to submit a new request to the Town for the records they are seeking. If the requestor is unsatisfied with the Town’s response, they may appeal that response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1).

Kristin McGrath SPR24/1380 Page 3 May 20, 2024 Conclusion Accordingly, I will consider this administrative appeal closed. If the requestor is not satisfied with the resolution of this administrative appeal, please be advised that this office shares jurisdiction with the Superior Court of the Commonwealth. See G. L. c. 66, §§ 10(b)(ix), 10A(c) (pursuing administrative appeal does not limit availability of judicial remedies). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Commonwealth Transparency