Waukegan CUSD 60: unauthorized release of high‑school fee data affected 3,084 students; staff access disabled, investigation ongoing

Waukegan CUSD 60 officials told families that an unauthorized release of a spreadsheet containing student fee information affected about 3,084 students at Waukegan High School and the district’s AOEC program. The district said the file included students’ first and last names, home addresses, parents’ names and amounts of outstanding fees and that it was shared without authorization with a private third party.

In an online information session, Nick Alijakas, chief of staff and director of communications, said the district notified affected families and the Waukegan Police Department when staff discovered the release. “There was no other personal information on that report,” Alijakas said. “It did not contain Social Security numbers. It did not contain dates of birth. It had no information about any student records like grades or attendance.”

Dr. Josue Cuevas, associate superintendent of technology, said the district’s initial investigation indicates a staff member exported a report and shared it with an external individual to help complete a work task. “This individual had no authorization from anyone in the school district to release this information,” Dr. Cuevas said. District technology staff disabled the employee’s access once the third party alerted the district and an internal investigation began.

Oscar Dupuy, director of student outreach, told participants the staff member is no longer employed by the district. “The employee is no longer part of district 60,” Dupuy said.

District officials said the spreadsheet was an export from the district’s student information system, Infinite Campus, created to identify outstanding high‑school fees after a report was requested in November. The district emphasized the file did not include immigration‑status information and said it has no indication the data was shared with federal agencies such as ICE.

Officials said the third party who received the spreadsheet brought it to the district’s attention rather than distributing it more widely. The district also displayed a police report number during the session and said it had reported the matter to Waukegan police; the webinar did not provide the police report number in the text of its FAQs.

As immediate steps, district IT staff disabled the account that had access to the report; the district said it has launched an ongoing investigation with the police and internal staff. Dr. Cuevas said the district will continue to provide annual cybersecurity training for staff through a system called KnowBe4 and will reinforce data‑privacy procedures and staff protocols to reduce the risk of similar incidents.

Officials said they will send follow‑up communications to families and encouraged questions by email to district communications and technology staff. The district declined to name the employee because the investigation is ongoing, but confirmed the employee is no longer working for the district.

Why it matters: the release involved identifiable contact and fee information for thousands of students during a period officials said has increased anxiety for families. The district’s next steps include the ongoing police investigation, internal review of procedures that led to the export and reinforced staff training.

What the district says it will do next: continue the police investigation, complete the internal review, follow up with affected families by email and continue annual and role‑specific cybersecurity training for employees. The district also said it will provide additional clarifications to families in a follow‑up message.