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District communications director outlines social‑media growth, FOIA burden and staffing ideas
Summary
The district communications director reported increases in social media followers and engagement, described the district's crisis communications role, and told the board FOIA requests this year totaled 19 — including a cluster of AI‑generated requests — and suggested internships or additional staff for social‑media support.
Ball Chatham CUSD 5’s communications director briefed the board on a year of work that included a new communications plan, growth in social‑media followers and reach, community engagement work and a rising FOIA workload tied in part to automated AI requests.
The director said a roughly 40‑page communications plan completed earlier this year covers goals, website, social media, crisis communications and branding guidelines. Crisis templates are built into the district plan and the communications office is positioned to coordinate public messaging alongside school principals and the superintendent in an emergency.
The director reported growth across district channels: Facebook followers near 3,000 with about 973,000 views (six‑month window), Instagram roughly 2,500 followers and about 711,000 views, and X (formerly Twitter) with about 2,200 followers. The presenter explained the difference between “reach” (unique users) and views and said content interactions have increased.
The communications director told the board the district handled 19 FOIA requests since July, with many taking minimal staff time but some requiring hours to redact and coordinate with other departments. The director said the district had received multiple FOIA requests generated by automated AI actors and noted those requests consume disproportionate staff resources.
On staffing, board members and the director discussed adding at least part‑time help or using university internships to support social media and community outreach. The director described previous experience supervising student workers and graduate assistants and said internships could be mutually beneficial — students get experience and the district gains capacity while preserving content standards.
Board members praised the communications work and the director’s outreach to media and community groups, and encouraged exploring internships or additional staffing and coordination with building‑level accounts.
The presentation also noted the district is exploring a new website provider with a target migration in winter 2026, and that the newsletter has been revamped and is distributed digitally via a platform the presenter described as user friendly.
