School districts face challenging issues in complying with records-related laws and regulations, improving access to the wealth of records-based information, and managing the cost of records storage. Many school districts do not have the luxury of having a professional records management staff to design and implement programs that address this issue. Rockland BOCES offers many records management support services to assist districts with this very important responsibility.

Rockland County BOCES obtained a 2005-2006 LGRMIF grant from the New York State Archives to help bring state-of-the-art electronic records management services to component and non-component districts alike. Records management services at Rockland BOCES are offered through the Instructional Support/Technical Services Division.

Dr. Carol Stewart, Program Administrator for Records Management, and Caroline MacDonald, Records Management Specialist

Dr. Carol Stewart, Program Administrator for Records Management, and Caroline MacDonald, Records Management Specialist, saw a need to take records management “beyond microfilm and into the 21st Century” for area school districts. Rockland County BOCES selected Laserfiche electronic document imaging software and General Code to help them accomplish this goal. Rockland County BOCES evaluated several potential software packages and chose Laserfiche on the basis of affordability and user-friendliness.

Although paper and microfilm have been the cornerstones of records management in the past, districts now have a need to access the increasing volume of documents quicker and more efficiently. Paper and microfilm just cannot provide the timely and reliable access required and expected. Electronic document management not only provides quick and efficient access to information, enabling a district to better serve its constituents, it also provides a reliable disaster protection/ recovery option.

As an option, a district can obtain its own networked Laserfiche system for wider access, and options for Web accessibility may also be available.

Caroline MacDonald coordinates the conversion of the documents to digital format. Participating districts provide paper or microfilm documents to Rockland BOCES. These documents are then scanned into Laserfiche, named, and “indexed” for quick searchability. Districts can access documents via a nested folder structure (similar to Windows Explorer) organized to emulate their paper files. In addition to accessing documents through the folder structure, there are also various search options available, depending on the type of document. For textual types of documents (such as Board Minutes), districts can perform a full-text search. For non-textual types of documents (PO’s, forms, etc.), districts can search by key fields.

Rockland BOCES can provide the documents to the districts on self-executable “viewer” CD’s or DVD’s, complete with the programming to do searches. As an option, a district can obtain its own networked Laserfiche system for wider access, and options for Web accessibility may also be available.

“The wonderful thing about the Laserfiche software is its simplicity for the end user,” says Dr. Stewart. “It is also very flexible and can accommodate almost any type of document a district may have.” Common documents include Board Agendas and Minutes, Special Education Records, Student Records (such as transcripts, permanent record cards or cumulative files), Medical Records, Accounts Payable Documents, Employee Files, District Policies and Procedures, and Contracts.

The electronic document imaging services provided by Rockland County BOCES make documents more accessible, with a huge amount of information on one small CD or DVD. Also, because this service is state-aid reimbursable as a cooperative service, districts realize great economies as well.

Rockland BOCES encourages both component and non-component districts to explore the “new frontier” of electronic document management through use of its services. Additional information can be obtained by calling Dr. Stewart or Ms. MacDonald at 845-627-4724.

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