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Is Malden Public Schools is in a financial crisis? Why would they spend 2.5 times more on legal fees than they did 2016-2018?

Malden Public Schools legal expenses between 2019 and 2023 have grown on average 250% or two and a half times what they were spending on average in 2016-2018.   Unfortunately, we were unable to get publicly published data from DESE for the years prior to 2019, however we have an outstanding request for 2016-2018. It should […]

Should Public Schools Special Needs Budgets Pay for Public Records Litigation?

Our friends at the Public Schools Data Exchanger recently received a response to a public records request from the Malden Public Schools. In this response, it appears that many public records battles and open meeting law battles the City of Malden finds itself in are being directed to the Assistant Superintendent of Special Education, Ms. […]

Key SPR Decision Today!

Identity or Status of Requestor  Please note that the reason for which a requestor seeks access to or a copy of a public record does not afford any greater right of access to the requested information than other persons in the general public. The Public Records Law does not distinguish between requestors. Access to a […]

Massachusetts Division of Open Government Responds to Request #1

Massachusetts Division of Open Government Responds to Request #1 On Friday, April 5, 2024 the Massachusetts Division of Open Government of the Attorney General of Massachusetts responded to the first of two Open Meeting Law public records requests. The request and all of their responses can be found here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/65vvgj5ffg5mjmtz8qpxz/h?rlkey=oesml8f0xkvf0bajbdfhmvfx3&dl=0

Who Needs Antonietta Mertz (a.k.a. ‘Toni’)?

Who Needs Antonietta Mertz (a.k.a. ‘Toni’)? Antonietta (‘Toni’) Mertz is the Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance at Malden Public Schools(“MPS”)as of at least May 5, 2023. Is Ms. Mertz representing herself to other districts/municipalities as “Retired”? Ms. Mertz is also identified as the Malden Public School Chief Financial Officer who works “…one day per week to […]

How Much? NO REALLY, How Much?

How Much…. NO REALLY, How Much? The Malden Public Schools appears unable to provide a consistent, reliable dollar amount for the amount of money it expends on legal fees, year over year. OpenCommonwealth has requested these records from DESE, the Controller of the City of Malden, and the Malden Public Schools multiple times. We are […]

Who has Control? Who is in Control?Evidently, not the Controller…

The City of Malden’s Controller has failed to audit the School Department for the last 10 years. The Annual expenditure for Malden Public Schools in the 2025 School Year (Fall 2024-Spring 2025) is a whopping $124.5 Million dollars, this combined with other education related expenses appears to be more than 60% of the entire City budget. […]