John Arlauskas v. Winthrop, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20253693)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records December 23, 2025 SPR25/3693 Superintendent Lisa A. Howard Winthrop Public Schools 1 Metcalf Square Winthrop, MA 02152 Dear Superintendent Howard: I have received the petition of John Arlauskas appealing the nonresponse of the Winthrop 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 November 19, 2025, Mr. Arlauskas requested “documentation regarding the recertification notices issued to me in 2025[.]” Specifically, Mr. Arlauskas sought the following: [1] A detailed accounting of all expenditures related to legal services for special education matters for [the School] for the past five fiscal years[:] Total amount spent on legal services related to special education disputes, complaints, mediations, hearings, or due process proceedings before the Bureau of Special Education Appeals (BSEA)[;] [i]temized invoices, billing statements, or summaries from each attorney or law firm used for special education-related legal work[;] and [r]etainer agreements or contracts with law firms or attorneys who represented or advised the district on special education issues during each year[;] [2] The total legal spending broken down by grade level of the student involved, to the extent permitted without releasing personally identifiable information[;] [3] A list of all law firms and attorneys contracted to represent or advise the district in special education matters during the same five-year period[.] Claiming to not yet have received responsive records, the requestor petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/3693, was opened as a result. Subsequently, I learned that the School intends on providing a written response to Mr. Arlauskas. Accordingly, the School is ordered to provide Mr. Arlauskas with a response in accordance with the Public Records Law, its Regulations and this order within ten business days. 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

Superintendent Lisa A. Howard SPR25/3693 Page 2 December 23, 2025 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. Mr. Arlauskas may appeal the substantive nature of the School’s response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: John Arlauskas