Debbie Herbst v. Salem, City of - Public Schools (SPR 20253413)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records November 25, 2025 SPR25/3413 Shirley Dorai Executive Administrative Assistant to the School Committee and Superintendent Salem Public Schools 29 Highland Avenue Salem, MA 01970 Dear Ms. Dorai: On November 18, 2025, this office received your petition on behalf of the Salem Public Schools (School/District) seeking an extension of time to produce records and requesting permission to charge for time spent segregating and redacting responsive records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). As required by law, it is my understanding that the School furnished a copy of the petition to the requestor, Debbie Herbst. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). On November 5, 2025, Ms. Herbst requested “[a]n electronic summary of purchase orders (not the individual purchase orders themselves) issued by Salem School District from January 1, 2020 through October 31, 2025.” Petition for an Extension of Time Under the Public Records Law, upon a showing of good cause, the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) may grant a single extension to an agency not to exceed 20 business days and a single extension to a municipality not to exceed 30 business days. In determining whether there has been a showing of good cause, the Supervisor shall consider, but shall not be limited to considering: (i) the need to search for, collect, segregate or examine records; (ii) the scope of redaction required to prevent unlawful disclosure; (iii) the capacity or the normal business hours of operation of the agency or municipality to produce the request without the extension; (iv) efforts undertaken by the agency or municipality in fulfilling the current request and previous requests; (v) whether the request, either individually or as part of a series of requests from the same requestor, is frivolous or intended to harass or intimidate the agency or municipality; and 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

Shirley Dorai SPR25/3413 Page 2 November 25, 2025 (vi) the public interest served by expeditious disclosure. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). If the Supervisor determines that the request is part of a series of contemporaneous requests that are frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass, and the requests are not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, the Supervisor may grant a longer extension or relieve the agency or municipality of its obligation to provide copies of the records sought. Id. The filing of a petition does not affect the requirement that a Records Access Officer (RAO) must provide an initial response to a requestor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 36.06(4)(b). Current Petition In its petition, the School requests “an additional 25 business days beyond the time specified under the statute (25 business days) – for a total of 50 business days from the date of payment receipt for the work, to respond,” and provides the following information in support of its request: [D]istrict hereby petitions for an extension of time to respond to that portion of the request that seeks purchase orders given that the scope of redaction required to prevent unlawful disclosure is significant. The District will be unable to produce the records during normal business hours of operation without an extension due to the significant amount of records sought. In light of the need to collect, segregate and examine the records, as well as the capacity of the School to produce the records without an extension, the School has established good cause to permit an extension of time. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(i)-(iii). The School is granted an extension of 25 business days. Petition to Assess Fees – Municipalities The Supervisor may approve a petition from a municipality to charge for time spent segregating or redacting or to charge in excess of $25 per hour, if the Supervisor determines that 1) the request is for a commercial purpose or 2) the fee represents an actual and good faith representation by the municipality to comply with the request. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). In rendering such a decision, the Supervisor is required to consider the following: a) the public interest served by limiting the cost of public access to the records; b) the financial ability of the requestor to pay the additional or increased fees; and c) any other relevant extenuating circumstances. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv).

Shirley Dorai SPR25/3413 Page 3 November 25, 2025 The statute sets out a two-prong test for determining whether the Supervisor may approve a municipality’s petition to allow the municipality to charge for time spent segregating or redacting records or to charge in excess of $25 an hour for the provision of public records. The first prong is whether the request for records was made for a commercial purpose. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). It is my understanding that this request was not made for a commercial purpose. The second prong of the test is whether the fee represents an actual and good faith representation by the municipality to comply with the request. The Supervisor must consider 1) if the fee is necessary such that the request could not have been prudently completed without the redaction or segregation or fee in excess of $25 per hour; 2) the amount of the fee is reasonable; and 3) the fee is not designed to limit, deter or prevent access to requested public records. Id. Petitions seeking a waiver of statutory limits to fees assessed to segregate and/or redact public records must be made within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4)(g). Fee Estimates – Municipalities A municipality may assess a reasonable fee for the production of a public record except those records that are freely available for public inspection. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). The fees must reflect the actual cost of complying with a particular request. Id. A maximum fee of five cents ($.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 2 (two) 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 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). Petition to Assess Fees In its petition, the School requests permission “to charge a fee of $25 per hour to produce these records . . . and seeks the ability to charge for redactions under Exemption C.” In an email to this Division on November 20, 2025, the School clarified that it is seeking permission “to charge to review and redact under both Exemptions C and O,” and provides the following information in support of its request:

Shirley Dorai SPR25/3413 Page 4 November 25, 2025 [T]he District is in possession of approximately 19,338 purchase orders from January 1, 2020 until October 31, 2025 that are responsive to [your] request. The District has a spreadsheet for 2020-2025 which contains the purchase order number or equivalent, purchase date, vendor ID or equivalent, vendor name, line item quantity, line item description, line item unit price and total price. The information for the line item details need to be reviewed for any potential redactions. There are 75,860 lines that contain this information. [T]hese purchase orders require redactions in accordance with the exemption set forth at G.L. c. 4, § 7(26)(c). Exemption (c), commonly referred to as the privacy exemption applies to: personnel and medical files or information; also any other materials or data relating to a specifically named individual, the disclosure of which may constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26)(c). In accordance with the exemption, the District needs to review and redact the purchase orders to the extent they contain information concerning employees that relates to performance or complaints, evaluations of employees, leaves of absences, and discipline of employees. [A]nd, the records may contain information subject to redaction under Exemption O, such as the home address, personal email address, or home phone number of government employees. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26)(o). Based on the information provided in its fee petition, I find the School has met its burden to explain how, given the nature of the responsive records, the request could not prudently be completed without segregation or redaction. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). Conclusion As described above, I find that the School has established good cause for a time extension of 25 business days. Additionally, I find the School has met its burden to explain how the response could not be prudently completed without redaction or segregation. To the extent the responsive records contain the exempt information as described above, the School may assess a fee for segregation and redaction. I encourage the parties to communicate further to enable the School to provide records in an efficient and affordable manner. Please note, Ms. Herbst has the right to seek judicial review of this decision by commencing a civil action in the appropriate superior court. See G. L. c. 66, §§ 10(c), 10(d)(iv)(4), 10A(c).

Shirley Dorai SPR25/3413 Page 5 November 25, 2025 Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Debbie Herbst