Math Parents Belmont v. Belmont, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20253163)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records November 7, 2025 SPR25/3163 Artemis Tingos Executive Assistant to the Superintendent Office of the Superintendent Belmont Public Schools 644 Pleasant Street Belmont, MA 02478 Dear Ms. Tingos: I have received the petition of Belmont Math Parents (requestors) appealing the response of the Belmont 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 September 30, 2025, the requestors sought, “[a]ll emails, texts and messages between [two identified individuals] from February 1, 2025 to May 1, 2025 regarding math placement, MDTP. This request is not seeking records related to any individual student or parent.” The School responded on October 3, 2025 providing a fee estimate. Unsatisfied with the response, the requestors petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/3163, was opened as a result. Fee Estimates – 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 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 of records requested unless the 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

Artemis Tingos SPR25/3163 Page 2 November 7, 2025 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, segrgegate, redact or reproduce the 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 of Records 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 of Records under a petition under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). The School’s October 3rd Fee Estimate In an October 3, 2025 fee estimate, the School provided a fee estimate of $29.00 and stated the following: Number of hours .16 x $25 (maximum $25 per hour) = $4, performing the following task: Searching for the records Number of hours 3 x $25 (maximum $25 per hour) = $75, performing the following task: Segregating the Records, Reviewing for Responsiveness, Uploading, Redacting. 8 emails to review @ 5 minutes each = 40 minutes and 14 emails at 10 minutes due to heavy redacting 3.16 total with searching First 2 hours are free. 1.16 hours of work. 3 + 0.16 = 3.16 – 2 = 1.16 hours x $25 = $29 Reasonableness of the fee estimate Although the School has estimated that it would take .16 hours to complete the search and compilation process, it is unclear why the School requires this amount of time to search for and compile the records. The School must provide an explanation of the tasks performed during the .16 hours of search time. It is additionally unclear why the School requires 10 minutes per email to review the responsive records. The School must provide further details regarding the contents of the records and why it would take 10 minutes to review each one. Based on the School’s response, it is unclear if any statues are involved that the School will employ to segregate and make redactions pursuant to Exemption (a) of the Public Records Law. As stated above, a fee shall not be assessed for time spent segregating or redacting records unless such segregation or redaction is requires by law or approved by the Supervisor under a petition under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). Accordingly, the School must provide further details regarding its fee estimate. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv) (requiring the amount of the fee be reasonable).

Artemis Tingos SPR25/3163 Page 3 November 7, 2025 I encourage the requestors and the School to communicate in order to facilitate producing records efficiently and affordably. The School must use its knowledge of the records to facilitate providing any responsive records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(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 the requestors with a response to their 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. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Belmont Math Parents