The Hinsdale Township High School District 86 board reviewed its records-retention and disposal practices on May 29 after community members raised concerns about transparency and historic FOIA logs.

Deb Kudrowski, the district's FOIA officer, explained that the district follows the state-recommended timelines for retaining different categories of records and that the district has, in prior years, filed disposal certificates for records older than the retention period. "Board of education records do not have a disposal period other than verbatim closed-session recordings which can be after 18 to 24 months," Kudrowski said while describing the process.

Several board members urged caution given the recent community interest in archived records. One member proposed pausing scheduled disposals until the board could clarify procedures and communicate the practice to the public; other members emphasized the district's legal duty to follow retention requirements and the administrative burden of keeping materials indefinitely.

After discussion the board's operational direction was to allow the administration to proceed with the routine application to dispose of records that have met retention timelines, while noting a request to improve public communication about the records-retention schedule and FOIA portal. The minutes reflect that a majority of board members were "comfortable with the application being submitted," and administrators were asked to bring suggestions for clearer public communication and potential process improvements.

No immediate change was made to the retention schedule; rather, administration will continue with the normal filing process and prepare additional guidance for the board and community about what the schedule means and what records are retained.