Introduction

The Records Management Program provides a comprehensive, cohesive and compliant system for the management of all district records. An effective records management program is vital to the success of the district and requires the cooperation of every school and department. Every employee has an important role to play in protecting the district by creating, using and disposing of records in accordance with district policies and procedures, state statutes and federal law. The absence of effective practices could have a tremendous impact on the efficiency and cost effectiveness of the district. Good records management results in more time, more energy, more money and more space for educating students.

This manual will clearly define the components of a good records management program. The objective is to bring a consistent approach to record keeping practices, free up valuable office space and ensure the retention of vital documents. This manual contains detailed descriptions of processes and procedures that are intended to help schools and departments establish and maintain efficient office filing systems that meet their daily operational needs. The information is intended to be accurate, authoritative and simple to understand. Foremost, this is a reference manual. Please take the time to familiarize yourself with the Table of Contents so you will know where to look when you have a question. You will be able to answer most of your questions by referring to this manual, including:

• Who do I contact for help matching a record to a Records Schedule?
• How do I determine the appropriate Retention Period?
• Do I have the primary copy? Who has the secondary copy?
• How do I differentiate between a record and a non-record?
• What do I do with historical records?
• Should I dispose of records by recycling or shredding? Why does it matter?
• Where do I get storage boxes? How should they be labeled?
• I’m new. Is additional help available?