Jenn Gordon v. Bedford, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20253500)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records December 11, 2025 SPR25/3500 Erin Crowley Executive Coordinator Office of the Superintendent Bedford Public Schools 97 McMahon Road Bedford, MA 01730 Dear Ms. Crowley: I have received the petition of Jenn Gordon appealing the response of the Bedford 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 July 29, 2025, Ms. Gordon requested the following: [C]opies of all current employment contracts for all central or mail office individuals working in the following roles and offices: • Superintendent • Assistant Superintendent • Human Resources Department • Business Office • Any other staff based in the central or main office reporting directly to or working under the supervision of the superintendent, assistant superintendent, humans resources, or business office. On October 28, 2025, Ms. Gordon modified her request to seek the following: In order to clarify compensation and title structures within the central office as a whole, I am requesting the following for all staff included in my original request, including (but not limited to) the two positions whose job titles and responsibilities have recently changed: 1. Any contract addenda, amendments, side letters, or MOUs issued from July 1, 2023 to present. 2. Any salary or compensation adjustment authorizations, including but not limited to: - salary change justification memos, 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

Erin Crowley SPR25/3500 Page 2 December 11, 2025 - HR payroll adjustment forms, - superintendent-approved salary recommendation forms. 3. Any supplemental pay, stipends, or temporary duty compensation authorizations for central office staff during the same period. 4. Any revised or newly approved job descriptions that correspond to changes in title or scope of responsibilities. 5. Any position reclassification reviews or evaluations used to determine changes in pay grade or salary placement. 6. School Committee Personnel Action Logs (or equivalent personnel action summaries) from July 1, 2023 to present documenting salary, title, or role actions for central office staff. 7. The salary range or pay structure currently in effect for individually contracted central office positions. On November 7, 2025, Ms. Gordon further modified the start date of her request “to July 1, 2024.” Previous Appeal This request was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR25/2788 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (October 6, 2025). In my October 6th determination, I ordered the School to clarify whether it possessed additional records responsive to Ms. Gordon’s request. Subsequently, the School responded on October 16, 2025. Ms. Gordon then modified her request, as described above, and the School responded on November 3, 2025, providing a fee estimate. Unsatisfied with the School’s responses, Ms. Gordon petitioned this office, and this appeal, SPR25/3500, 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. 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

Erin Crowley SPR25/3500 Page 3 December 11, 2025 custodian must provide the responsive records. 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). The School’s November 3rd Fee Estimate In its November 3, 2025 response, the School provides a fee estimate totaling $87.50 and explains the following: Your request requires the retrieval and review of records maintained by both the Payroll and Human Resources departments. Based on consultation with those departments, we estimate that the total time required to access, review, and compile the requested records will be approximately four and one-half (4.5) hours. In accordance with the Massachusetts Public Records Law, the first hour of staff time is provided at no charge, and subsequent time may be billed at a rate not to exceed $25.00 per hour. Accordingly, the estimated cost to fulfill your request is $87.50. Current Appeal In her appeal petition, Ms. Gordon contends that “Bedford Public Schools has not responded to my revised public records request, and the 10-business-day deadline has passed.” She further contends that “because this [November 7th] clarification narrowed the request, it triggered a new 10-business-day response clock under the Public Records Law. That deadline has now passed, and the lack of response constitutes a constructive denial.” She specifically requests that “the Supervisor of Records direct Bedford Public Schools to: 1. Respond to my

Erin Crowley SPR25/3500 Page 4 December 11, 2025 November 7 narrowed request, 2. Provide an updated, itemized fee estimate based on the shorter timeframe, and/or 3. Produce all non-exempt records.” G. L. c. 66, § 10(e) G. L. c. 66, § 10(e) provides that “[a] records access officer shall not charge a fee for a public record unless the records access officer responded to the requestor within 10 business days under subsection (b).” In this case, the School initially responded to the July 9th request by providing records on August 12th. The School also responded to the October 28th modified request by providing a fee estimate on November 3rd. Where the School responded under G. L. c. 66, § 10(b), I find the School may assess a fee to produce responsive records. In light of Ms. Gordon’s willingness to engage in communication to modify the scope of the request, I find it unnecessary to opine on the School’s November 3rd fee estimate at this time. This office encourages the School and Ms. Gordon to communicate directly in order to facilitate providing records more efficiently and affordably. Ms. Gordon may consider further narrowing the scope of her request to enable the School to provide the records more efficiently and affordably. The School must use its superior knowledge of the records to suggest any potential reasonable modifications to the request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vii) (a 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 municipality to produce the records sought more efficiently and affordably). Conclusion Accordingly, the School is ordered to provide Ms. Gordon with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten 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. Ms. Gordon may further appeal the substantive nature of the School’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Jenn Gordon