[Town Meeting] Public Records Request for Warrant Article 14 - Municipal Charge Liens - School Fees

[Stephen Harrington]

Dear Fellow Town Meeting Members,

Below is a public records request pertaining to Warrant Article 14 -
"Municipal Charge Liens - School Fees" that was denied by the School
Department on the grounds of a FERPA exemption; the school department is
claiming that the fee amounts charged to parents are protected student
records and can not be made public.  Article 14 makes a subset of these
same, protected student records public through the municipal charge lien
process.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

Stephen Harrington
TMM Precinct 13
617-852-4939



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Diane Johnson <djohnson at arlington.k12.ma.us>
Date: Wed, Apr 18, 2012 at 12:21 PM
Subject: Public Records Request of April 13, 2012
To: Stephen Harrington <sth.alist at gmail.com>
Cc: Kathleen Bodie <kbodie at arlington.k12.ma.us>, Karen Tassone <
ktassone at arlington.k12.ma.us>, "Rice, Juliana" <JRice at town.arlington.ma.us>,
Pat Plagge <pplagge at arlington.k12.ma.us>


Dear Mr. Harrington:

Your April 13, 2012, e-mailed public records request has been forwarded to
me for response.  In it, you request the following documents:

           A list of the names of parents/guardians, their address and the
actual amounts paid by each for kindergarten fees in all Arlington Public
Schools for the latest year available.
           A list of the names of parents/guardians, their address and the
actual amounts paid by each for athletic fees at the Arlington High School
for the latest year available.
           A list of the names of parents/guardians, their address and the
actual amounts paid by each for transportation fees on the Bishop School
Bus  for the latest year available.

Any documents responsive to your request would be confidential student
record information under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy
Act and associated state regulations, 603 C.M.R. 23.00.  Therefore, such
materials would be exempt from production under the Public Records Law
because they are specifically exempted by statute and because their
disclosure would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.
See G.L. c. 4, section 7, cl. 26(a), (c).

If you are aggrieved by this response, you may petition for review by the
state Supervisor of Public Records in accordance with G.L. c. 66A, section
10(b), and 950 C.M.R. 32.00.

Sincerely,
Diane Fisk Johnson
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