Hinsdale Township High School District 86 trustees on Sept. 18 authorized the district to engage a data consultant to clean, standardize and report course, staffing and program data and to create public dashboards for program-of-studies information. Chief Information Officer Keith Bachwal presented a scope of work and told the board the outside consultant will help identify missing data fields, recommend data-cleaning processes and produce analysis to support course offerings, staffing and scheduling.

“We are providing data as best we can,” Bachwal said, adding that turnover and migration to new systems in recent years left gaps that an outside consultant could more quickly reconcile. The board discussed a proposed contract estimated in the $24,000–$30,000 range and heard that $30,000 was a realistic near-term expectation; one board member said the maximum for the engagement would be $40,000 if scope expanded.

District staff said the project will focus first on scrubbing course and POS (program of studies) data in the district’s student information system, adding needed data fields and producing a public dashboard (Tableau was discussed) to make course offerings and related metrics visible to families and staff. The consultant will also recommend processes for ongoing data maintenance so administrators and counselors can reliably generate reports without manual, ad-hoc edits.

Funding and timing: Josh (district staff) told the board the district has budgeted funds in existing infrastructure allocations—staff referenced $450,000 in prior infrastructure budgeting as evidence that funds exist—and that the data consultant work could start after contract language is finalized, with a targeted project start of about Oct. 14. The board agreed the contract amount was low enough that the district would not require an RFQ for the engagement; instead trustees supported moving forward with the consultant with board-member participation in scoping and oversight.

Board members volunteered to work with CIO Keith Bachwal on scope and oversight; trustees said the work is likely to be intensive for several weeks after contract approval and would save staff hours long term by automating routine reporting. The board asked for periodic updates and for the consultant to prioritize data elements needed by the academic, HR and finance/ facilities committees.

No formal competitive procurement was required or recorded for this engagement because trustees concluded the dollar amount and existing vendor relationship justified a direct award; staff noted the district has an existing relationship and a data-sharing agreement with the proposed consultant.