Why Public Records are Crucial for Schools

One of the most difficult things for school staff members is to make correct student lists for classrooms and fill them with the addresses and contact data of all the families.

It takes a lot of work, and it’s extremely important to get everything right. In most cases, a school’s financial support depends on those lists. Because of this, a lot of states ask for verification of students’ addresses. A public records database is a great solution to help a school get the right funding without the tedious job of doing it themselves.

Before School

There are many kinds of public school districts, but all of them need public records. The majority of districts have got a central headquarters where family members can register their kids for school beforehand. At this headquarters, they answer a questionnaire with their personal data. Sometimes, they have to prove the accuracy of it — for example, by showing a tax paper or a utility bill.

Nowadays, many school districts do it all online — they permit families to answer the questionnaire on their websites. But such a system is quite flawed, and also, some people simply don’t have a stable internet connection.

Problems for District Employees

Of course, it’s a lot of information to work with, and this process can be very time-, energy- and money-consuming. And the expenses increase when family members forget to show any extra papers that are necessary for filling out the questionnaires, which is not uncommon at all. But even if they manage to show everything needed, the school district employees must check the accuracy of all the papers. And it’s not the only difficulty — for example, some parents are immigrants and can’t speak English very well. When lots of such seemingly small things are combined, the task which already isn’t easy becomes way more complicated.

All Schoolchildren are Important

Why is this verification so crucial? There are several reasons for it. The majority of districts’ financing depends directly on the number of students, and it’s extremely vital. For example, in Illinois, a district gets $17 000 for a student. People who pay taxes expect that their money will be spent fairly. In several states, this means that schoolchildren should live in the exact district where they go to school. Of course, most states permit kids to attend schools in other districts, but their data still has to be verified. There are plenty of reasons for this, for instance, to know if a family is eligible for a food or bussing program.

Wrong residency data can turn out to be very expensive not only to school districts but also to schoolchildren and their families. And it’s not only about funding. If the data is wrong, a kid may even have to leave the school, which is awful not only for the kid and the family but the school employees too.