Houghton, Sam v. Cape Cod Community College (SPR 20261384)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records April 27, 2026 SPR26/1384 Patrick Stone Records Access Officer Cape Cod Community College 2240 Iyannough Road West Barnstable, MA 02668 Dear Mr. Stone: I have received the petition of Sam Houghton appealing the response of the Cape Cod Community College (College) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On April 6, 2026, Mr. Houghton requested, “[m]eeting minutes from an executive session meeting on October 23 of the Cape Cod Community College Board of Trustees, and any material related to the October 23 meeting provided to the trustees.” The College responded on April 13, 2026. Unsatisfied with the response, Mr. Houghton petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR26/1384, 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 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

Patrick Stone SPR26/1384 Page 2 April 27, 2026 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. Current Appeal In his appeal, Mr. Houghton states, “I contend that these individuals and board purposefully kept conversations referring to the details of this expansion from the public due to the inflammatory nature of this topic and the strong community response that would be generated … The Town Clerk did not provide a specific statutory exemption or how it applies to the refusal to release these executive session minutes that occurred more than 5 years ago.” The Town’s April 13th Response In its April 13, 2026 response, the Town withheld the executive session minutes under G. L. c. 30A, § 21(a)(1) as it operates through Exemption (a) of the Public Records Law. See G. L. c. 4, § 7(26)(a). Open Meeting Law The nature of the College’s response and Mr. Houghton’ appeal raise issues related to the Open Meeting Law, rather than the Public Records Law. See G. L. c. 30A, § 22(f). Given that an interpretation of the Open Meeting Law falls within the authority of the Office of the Attorney General and not this office, I decline to address this issue in this determination. See G. L. c. 30A, § 23. I encourage the parties to contact the Office of the Attorney General for a determination on the status of the executive session minutes. Conclusion Accordingly, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Sam Houghton