Math Parents Belmont v. Belmont, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20253167)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records November 7, 2025 SPR25/3167 Artemis Tingos Executive Assistant to the Superintendent Belmont Public Schools 644 Pleasant Street Belmont, MA 02478 Dear Ms. Tingos: I have received the petition of Belmont Math Parents (requestor) 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 8, 2025, the requestor requested “class rosters for each classroom and/or class in the Belmont Public Schools district for the 2025-2026 school year. Rosters should include name of school, teacher name and subject taught, and number of students for each class.” The School responded on September 12, 2025. Unsatisfied with the School’s response, the requestor petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/3167, 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. 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

Artemis Tingos SPR25/3167 Page 2 November 7, 2025 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 September 12th Response In its September 12, 2025 response, the School stated, “[y]our Public Records Request has been fulfilled. We have released all of the requested records to you…We now consider your request closed. Elementary class numbers will be available on October 1, 2025.” Three documents were provided with the response. Current Appeal In their appeal, the requestor states, “[p]artial records were released on September 12, 2025, but the [School] improperly closed the request the same day despite acknowledging that responsive elementary school enrollment data would not be available until October 1, 2025. The requester’s subsequent clarifying questions and attempts to access the October 1st records were ignored.” Subsequently, the School contacted the Public Records Division via email on October 29, 2025, stating, “[e]lementary enrollment numbers are generated monthly for the district (not daily) and a monthly district enrollment report is posted to the School Committee Public Documents page under the meeting after the first of every month. The district will release the October 1 enrollment numbers to the requestor via link to the website where it is posted.” Conclusion Accordingly, based on the above, where the School intends to provide the balance of the responsive records, the School is ordered to provide the requestor with said response to the 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: Belmont Math Parents