You may have read about Lexington resident Kyle York in the Boston Globe recently.
As a result of a public records request to Lexington Public Schools, York received internal emails that show an LPS employee asking another to “over estimate” the amount of time it would take to compile documents he asked for. Their objective was clearly to deter him from retrieving those records.
“Can you over estimate the time that it would take you to compile/copy the invoices requested and let me know when you have a chance?” Kristen McGrath, who is the executive assistant to Christine Lyons, the assistant superintendent for human resources at LPS, wrote to another employee on May 12, 2025. “Hopefully, when I let [York] know the cost they will not want to do it.”
LPS has long worked to get people public records free of charge, which is what the State Secretary’s office recommends municipalities do. But due to an influx in public records requests and the impact the volume of requests has on LPS employees, Lexington’s School Committee asked the district to consistently charge for public records requests.
Under LPS’s current public records guidelines, the district pre-determines how long it will take to retrieve and review records based on the type and size of the request. The cost is also pre-set. People can appeal fees if they want.
In Massachusetts, municipalities with populations over 20,000 (this includes Lexington) can charge up to $25 per hour for retrieving and reviewing requested records, not including the first two hours of work. The records officer must give the requester a “good faith estimate” of the time it will take them to complete the job and the expected total fee before fulfilling the request. That creates a loophole in the state law where public entities can make up the number of hours they expect to take to fulfill a request and quote a fee that’s too large.
Intentionally overestimating hours is clearly not kosher. LPS Superintendent Julie Hackett apologized to York on behalf of the district, held a disciplinary hearing for McGrath and Lyons, issued a letter of reprimand to McGrath and reassigned her duties, and appointed another employee to act as the records officer. Neither Lyons nor McGrath were fired, Hackett told the Observer. The request was eventually filled at no cost.
York has been one of the district’s squeaky wheels for a while. The damning email was found among 60,000 pages of communications the district has provided York since he began requesting public records in April.
His frustration with LPS stems from feeling dissatisfied with how the district supported his daughter, who has dyslexia. The district did not get her an Individualized Education Program, or IEP, as quickly as he expected and her mental health declined as a result of falling behind academically, York told the Observer. An IEP is a legal document that outlines personalized support for a student who has a disability such as dyslexia.
“We tried to work with the school on getting her services and they were a nightmare to work with, they were just not responsive,” York told the Observer. He said the district evaluated his daughter but claims staff “cherry picked” data so she wouldn’t get an IEP.
“They would ignore the things that were either on the absolute bottom end of average, or even below into the ‘not meeting any sort of standards,’” he said.
His experience led him to make public records requests to learn about the literacy curriculum his daughter was being taught, which uncovered thousands of documents.
In the meantime, York enrolled his daughter in the Carroll School, a local private school that specializes in educating children with dyslexia. Leaving LPS didn’t mark the end of his investigation, though.
His pursuits snowballed into asking questions about LPS spending. He got ahold of Hackett’s expense report and now has questions about, for example, how she spent about $17,000 at the Beauport Hotel in Gloucester in 2023.
“Why was this necessary? Why does she need to go to Gloucester?” York said. “Also, it’s Gloucester, so this is less than an hour from Lexington, you don’t need to stay over.”
Hackett sent a memo to the Select Board on Oct. 31 that explains the district’s interactions with York and responds to the allegations he made about her expenses.
“The allegations of fiscal mismanagement are demonstrably false,” she wrote.
Hackett notes that summer retreats are a longstanding LPS tradition since 2012. The retreats used to be out of state but the district has since stayed local to save money. This past summer, LPS did a one-day retreat for 21 people at Wright-Locke Farm in Winchester for $2,183.
“The 2023 and 2024 retreats were in Gloucester at The Beauport Hotel. The $17,149 referenced in Mr. York’s letter pertains to the Summer Administrative Retreat held on August 10-11, 2023. 21 administrators attended this retreat at a cost of $816 per person for both days, including all meals,” she wrote.
In the past, retreat expenses were distributed across the individuals who attended, but the district has thrown the whole expense on Hackett’s budget in recent years out of convenience.
York also claimed Hackett spent district money on alcohol, but Hackett disputed that in her memo, writing, “to be clear: I have never charged alcohol to a school account in my 33-year career.”
“It’s just a flat out lie,” she told the Observer. “That undermines my leadership and reputation in ways that are very alarming.”
Hackett’s memo also notes that York looped her husband into his communications with the district, which she found inappropriate. York filed records requests for emails between Hackett and her husband, who is the superintendent and records officer for Winchester Public Schools, she wrote. He also spoke negatively about her to State Rep. Michelle Ciccolo and Town Meeting members.
“My husband was getting BCCs on messages from this individual where it seemed that he was trying to demean me or the school system…it felt like I was being harassed,” Hackett recalled. “It went beyond what would be a professional inquiry about a topic related to finance. It felt very personal.”
York acknowledged that he has been persistent with his requests. He feels his investigation is an act of service to parents who also struggle to get their children extra help at LPS but don’t have the same determination he does.
“I don’t feel badly about any of this and what may happen to them…I don’t care if people like me,” he said. “I was sure we would eventually get the services that our daughter needed, but I know a lot of people don’t have this tenacity or even understanding to be able to push something like this through.’”
Despite what happened with the internal emails relating to York, Hackett insists she cares about operating an honest school district and believes in the public’s right to review records at any time.
“The public’s ability to access records to ensure financial transparency is important and necessary, and I wholeheartedly believe in it,” Hackett said. “Unfortunately, most municipal and school leaders I know deal with individuals in their community with an axe to grind who weaponize the public records requests process…it’s a problem that seems to be getting worse for Massachusetts leaders.”
There was no mention of corrective action in form of realistic fees, or an apology in the terms of waived fees. The “no discipline” is probably because the district minions did exactly what the school committee wanted.
An IEP can be a budget buster for the school, as MGL requires an IEP to the full potential of the student without any consideration to or limitation on the cost – a massive unfunded mandate. While taxpayers may not agree with that, or like it, the school officials are in breech of public trust when they attempt to undermine laws they do not like
For what it is worth:
The article says York was issued an apology and the fees were waived.
The School Committee is not involved in any day to day activities, they do not supervise anyone below the Superintendent. There has been not even an allegation the SC has done anything wrong here.
It was a while back now, but two of my children were on IEPs, one for dyslexia. We met no resistance. If that did happen to Mr. York’s child, that is not the way the schools should operate. But we only have one side of the story. The central allegations of stonewalling a legitimate IEP might be true, might not be. We don’t have enough information to know.
Dr. Hackett mentions the January 23, 2024 SC meeting in her letter. If you go back and watch that meeting you will see this is not a one-off story. So many families attended that SC meeting that we sat in the overflow room and many left without getting an opportunity to speak due to time constraints.
I was troubled by how Dr. Hackett framed parents advocating for evidence-based literacy instruction in her letter to the Select Board. She described us as “a small but vocal group,” and it felt like she was criticizing families for having their young children speak publicly about their struggles. Those brave students shared painful but important experiences—including feeling dumb, experiencing shame, and being left behind. As district leader, I would have expected compassion and reflection, not judgment of parents who have been advocating for more than a decade. Many families have made significant sacrifices for private tutoring; some have taken out loans, and my family has spent more than $500,000 to ensure our children learn to read. The mental health issues that these kids experience because they don’t get sufficient support has long term implications.
Let’s be clear that Lexington isn’t the only district having these literacy discussions – there is a reason our State lawmakers are fighting for a law to protect against the use of non-evidence based curriculum. It should not take legislation and more than 6 years for one of the state’s top districts to adopt evidence-based literacy practices but we are hopeful that the Right to Read bill will pass so that all students can learn to read.
You can watch De’Shawn Washington, former Lexington teacher/Teacher of Year’s, testimony at the State House in favor of evidence based instruction: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/deshawncwashington_cultivatingchangemakers-readingisasuperpower-activity-7375560270376538112-QQRB?utm_medium=ios_app&rcm=ACoAAADceaQBufA0JxudnFn15gPB9CmLnU3Rb_8&utm_source=social_share_send&utm_campaign=copy_link
While it’s understandable that Mr. York was angry and protective of his daughter, Dr. Hackett’s memo to the Select Board (for which a link is provided in the article) is directly on point, informative, and highly persuasive. I hope the Select Board, School Committee, and town residents will consider the facts Dr. Hackett has provided in response to attacks we’ve seen in the Globe and elsewhere, and express their support and gratitude to her for her outstanding services to our schools and community.
Unfortunately this argument seems to be undercut by the evidence uncovered by this public record’s request…
Also, Mrs Hackett’s quote vilifying public records requests and suggesting that Mr York’s request was “weaponizing” the process is not only bad faith, but shows her true colors. Simply unbecoming of a leader in our community – she should resign.
This is so unfortunate. The parent/district/teacher dynamic regarding IEP’s and generally how to address students’ special needs can so easily become adversarial. Collaboration is the best approach, but it is so hard. It’s an emotional topic for the parents, who of course want the best for their child/ren. It’s a professional field for the teachers and administrators who work with the parents.
I have known many special needs educators in my time, and to a one they have been dedicated and incredibly hard-working. They are also consistently criticized by some (not all, nor most) parents, who are struggling to work through their own fears and feelings about their child’s development and support.
The financial aspect of the situation inflames the entire situation. I wish there could be a better mechanism to fund what students need if it’s beyond the classroom. I also think facilitation/mediation for these discussions could be very helpful.
As it stands now, meeting an IEP’s requirements and/or providing special education specialists or separate sections, or transferring to a private school – these are all expensive options that pit the school against the parents, since the school budget as a whole is considered, and all school budget items are competing for the same dollars.
I’m wondering whether Mr. York is paying privately for the Carroll School, or whether LPS are funding it. At any rate, picking apart emails and questioning specific (unrelated) expenditures for staff/admin development retreats; and using public records requests to excess, seem to this outsider to have damaged any trust that might have been present among the parties. It seems vindictive and erodes my confidence that the parent has played fairly in this complicated situation.
There is a recent article on this website that says MCAS scores in Lexington are down from pre-2020 levels. The article suggests that COVID had an impact and we haven’t yet recovered. I’d like to point out that since Dr. Julie Hackett was hired in July 2018, the academic performance of LPS has declined. Not all of that decline can be blamed on COVID. Also contributing is Dr. Hackett’s failed policies, failed curriculum choices, obsession with DEI over academics and questionable spending. Wake up School Committee and Lexington voters!