Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

FOIA is the state Freedom of Information Act. Under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, records in the possession of public agencies may be accessed by the public upon written request. Pursuant to Section 2 (c), “public records” are all records, reports, forms, writings, letters, memoranda, books, papers, maps, photographs, cards, tapes, recordings, electronic data processing records, recorded information, and all other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, having been prepared or having been or being used, received, in the possession of or under the control of any public body.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Freedom of Information Act

FOIA Request Process

If your inquiry is simply a question and not a request to see a specific record or document, you can call DPS Administrative Offices at 217.362.3000 and ask to speak with the appropriate staff on that topic. You do not need to file a FOIA request unless you want to access a specific record or document.

Many types of documents and other sources of information can be found on our website. However, if your interest in DPS requires a FOIA request, please first read the FAQ document linked above, which describes the process, and then use one of the following ways to submit your request:

By Email: MBradford@dps61.org

By Mail:
Decatur Public School District #61
ATTN: Melissa Bradford, FOIA Officer
Keil Administration Building
101 West Cerro Gordo St.
Decatur, IL 62523

By Fax: 217.424.3009

Monthly FOIA Report

The Superintendent or designee shall: (1) provide the Board with sufficient information and data to permit the Board to monitor the District’s compliance with FOIA and this policy, and (2) report any FOIA requests during the Board’s regular meetings along with the status of the District’s response. The Board Secretary serves as the District’s FOIA Officer and will inform the Board of Education of any FOIA Reports from the previous month at every first Board meeting of the month.

Click through the tabs at the top to view the monthly FOIA reports.

July-Dec 2026

Jan-Jun 2026

Date Received	Due Date	Extension Due Date	Requestor/ Company	Topic/Summary	Date Responded
01/02/26	None	None	Owen Wang, Macon Reporter	Copies of all vendor contracts over $1,000 for the current school fiscal year.	01/06/26
01/05/26	01/12/26	None	Heidi Beck, Former Employee	Since Dr. Rochelle Clark began her tenure as Supt. DPS 61, records of All employees who were paid out for the remainder of their contract & permitted to leave employment prior to the contract’s expiration, including position/title, race, gender, total dollar amount paid as part of the contract payout, length of time remaining and all employees who requested but were denied.	01/12/26
01/05/26	01/12/26	None	Joel Shroades, SmartProcure	Copies of contract related from 01/01/23 to the present related to the following companies/vendors: Alice Training Institute, Navigate360, Snapwiz, Limnex / Liminex / Liminix, Omni Alert / Omnialert, Raptor Tech, Pear Deck Learning, Linewize, Lightspeed Systems, Securly, Bark Tech, iBoss, GoGuardian, Gaggle and PowerSchool.	01/08/26
01/09/26	01/16/26	None	Same Yeagle, DPS Parent	List of school board members and their elected terms.	01/12/26
01/12/26	02/11/26	None	Allison Hester, Data Branch	See original request.	01/14/26
01/14/26	01/22/26	None	CT Mills, Public Access Info LLC	Records, policies, schedules, or tables that identify: dollar thresholds requiring approval by school admins, (e.g., principals), central office staff or department leadership, supt. or designee and BOE and if provide records if thresholds differ by category.	01/20/26
01/20/26	01/27/26	None	CT Mills, Public Access Info LLC	Records, policies, schedules, or tables that identify: dollar thresholds requiring approval by school admins, (e.g., principals), central office staff or department leadership, supt. or designee and BOE and if provide records if thresholds differ by category.	01/20/26
01/20/26	01/27/26	None.	CT Mills, Public Access Info LLC	MPSED records, policies, schedules, or tables that identify: dollar thresholds requiring approval by school admins, (e.g., principals), central office staff or department leadership, supt. or designee and BOE and if provide records if thresholds differ by category.	01/20/26
02/05/26	02/12/26	02/20/26	Leara Evans, Retired Employee	Names of the candidates that applied for the current position of Superintendent of DPS.	02/20/26
02/05/26	02/12/26	None	Valerie Wells, Herald & Review	Previous two demographic reports that were mentioned at the 01/27/26 BOE meeting.	02/11/26
02/05/26	02/12/26	02/20/26	Michael F. Henry, Unknown	See original request.	02/20/26
02/09/26	03/11/26	None	Sheri Reid, SmartProcure	Purchasing Records from 11/07/25-02/09/26.	02/11/26
02/09/26	02/17/26	None	Justin Wenig, Starbridge	Contracts, service agreements, and POs that are in effect or have been in effect in the last 3 years with the following: Acellus, Apex Learning, Edgenuity, Edmentum, Imagine Learning, Lincoln Learning, Michigan Virtual and StrongMind.	02/11/26
02/10/26	02/18/26	None	Molly Sweeney, WCIA	Rochelle Clark's most recent contract with DPS, salary and benefit report for 25-26 school year.	02/11/26
02/13/26	02/23/26	None	Debra Powell, Unknown	Number of current full-time and part-time DPS employees, number of employees whose primary residence is within Decatur, IL city limits.	02/23/26
02/17/26	02/24/26	None	Oshea Smith, Sunlight Records	Contracts, agreements, amendments and renewals by District 61 from 01/01/21-01/29/26 with the following: Mastery Prep, Albert. io, IXL, Edgenuity, Khan Academy, Jumpstart, Texas College Bridge, Kaplan and Princeton Review.	02/18/26
02/19/26	02/26/26	None	Michael Ayele, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia	See original request.	02/23/26
02/23/26	03/02/26	None	Zachary Rowley, Financial Specialist	12/31/23 and 12/31/24 GASB 68 reports for the District's participation in the IL Municipal Retirement Fund.	02/25/26
02/27/26	03/06/26	03/13/26	Jaimie Lane, DPS Parent	Tape of an incident.	03/10/26
03/05/26	04/07/26	None	Sheri Reid, SmartProcure	Any document, list, chart, table, report, or record that shows the account numbers used by the District and identifies the school associated with each account number.	03/12/26
03/17/26	03/24/26	None	CT Mills, Public Access Info	See original request.	03/24/26
03/18/26	03/25/26	None	Justin Wenig, StarBridge	See original request.	03/25/26
03/19/26	03/26/26	None	CT Mills, Public Access Info	See original MPSED request.	03/25/26
03/19/26	03/26/26	None	Mike Pope, Disagree Learn	See original request.	03/26/26
03/25/26	04/01/26	None	Jaylyn Cook, WAND	District email correspondence and supporting documents related to closure of Dennis from 02/20/25-12/31/25.	03/26/26
03/30/26	04/08/26	None	Justin Wenig, StarBridge	POs and/or payment records for non-person/vendor entities, such as companies, organizations, or contractors from 01/2025-03/30/26.	04/01/26
04/08/26	04/15/26	None	Oshea Smith, Sunlight Access	Purchase orders issued by DPS from 12/01/25-02/28/26.	04/15/26
04/09/26	04/16/26	None	Jules Goonewardena, Macon Reporter	Emails and email attachments sent or received by District employee, official, or board member that reference or mention "Steve Lefko" within the dates 01/01/23-04/09/26.	04/15/26
04/14/26	04/21/26	None	Michael Henry, IL Resident	Law firms that provided legal services within the past 8 years, engagement and retention agreements, contracts, or fee schedules in effect and amount paid to each firm during the past 3 fiscal years,	04/21/26
04/15/26	04/22/26	None	Bradley Zimmerman, WCIA	Resignation letter and complaints against Nicholl Boose between 09/2025-04/2026.	04/22/26
04/17/26	04/24/26	None	Owen Wang, Macon Reporter	See original request.	04/23/26
04/27/26	05/27/26	None	Sarah Thorton, Data Branch	See original request.	04/29/26
04/29/26	05/29/26	None	Brandon Carney, Data Branch	See original request.	05/01/26
05/04/26	05/11/26	None	Aaron Mason, ConstructConnect	Bid tabulations and award amount for parking lot improvements at SDMS and Hope 26039. What is the notice to proceed date?	05/05/26
05/06/26	06/05/26	None	Jonas Vine, Data Branch	See original request.	05/08/26
05/11/26	05/18/26	None	Aaron Mason, ConstructConnect	Bid tabulation and award for parking lot improvements at SDMS and Hope 26039. What is the notice to proceed date?	05/13/26
05/13/26	05/20/26	None	Patricia Johnson, School Specialty	Bid tabulations for 111-1874, 111-1875 and 111-1876.	05/14/26
05/14/26	05/21/26	None	Brenda Cusack, Dodge Construction	Parking lot improvements bidding on 05/21/26.	05/18/26
05/20/26	05/28/26	None	Sarah James, Employee Data Analytics	Employees first and last names, email addresses, titles/positions, and primary campus/department.	05/26/26
05/26/26	06/25/26	None	Thomas Mundy, Govly	Purchasing records from 01/01/24-05/26/26	06/01/26
05/27/26	06/03/26	None	Sam Yeagle, Community	List of who spoke during public participation at 05/26/26 meeting.	06/02/26
05/27/26	06/26/26	None	Owen Collins, Data Branch	See original request.	05/28/26
06/01/26	06/08/26	None	Donna Ciabatti, Union 837-05	New 1 year extended contract with Alltown/Beacon.	06/02/26
06/02/26	07/02/26	None	Daniel Cramer, Upgraid Research	See original request.	06/24/26
06/03/26	07/06/26	None	Jomer Genite, SmartProcure	Employee/staff contact information.	06/11/26
06/03/26	07/06/26	None	Tessa Monroe, Data Branch	See original request.	06/11/26
06/08/26	07/09/26	None	Mackenzie Johnson, Data Branch	See original request.	06/11/26
06/08/26	06/15/26	None	Aaron Mason, ConstructConnect	Bid Tabulation: Parkin lot improvements at Harris/SELA. What is the notice to proceed date?	06/11/26
06/08/26	06/15/26	None	Ramona M. Neil, Unkown	See original request.	06/11/26
06/15/26	07/16/26	None	Daniel Forest, Data Branch	See original request.	06/24/26
06/17/26	06/25/26	None	Catarina Mascarenhas, Judiciocracy LLC	See original 3 requests.	06/25/26
06/22/26	07/22/216	None	Grants Ellsworth, Data Branch	See original request.	06/24/26
06/22/26	07/22/26	None	Kristin Bauer, Data Branch	See original request.	06/24/26
06/22/26	07/22/26	None	Andrew Caldwell, Data Branch	See original request.	06/24/26
06/22/26	06/29/26	None	Holly Kains, K-12 Teachers Alliance	Employee directory records for instructional and certified staff: first & last name, job title or position assigned or location, email address and grade level and/or subject area assigned.	06/25/26
06/25/26	07/27/26	None	Brittany, Data Branch	See original request.	06/29/26

July-Dec 2025

Date Received	Due Date	Extension Due Date	Requestor	Topic Summary	Date Required
06/11/25	06/20/25	None	CT Mills, Public Info Access LLC	Macon-Piatt Special Education District list of all school and district-level administrators, including: name, title/position, work email address and work location.	06/12/25
06/18/25	07/21/25	None	Karen Garcia, SmartProcure	Employee Contact Info	06/23/25
06/23/25	06/30/25	None	Owen Wang, Macon Reporter	Will the school math team from your high schools attend the annual (July) Mu Alpha Theta convention? If so, who will be attending, and who is sponsoring the trip?	06/27/25
06/25/25	07/02/25	None	Sharon Hanlon, Inter-State Studio & Purchasing Co.	The quote results regarding school photography.	06/26/25
07/01/25	07/09/25	None	Kyrie Reitz, Communications Intern-Mackinac Center for Public Policy	Union dues report and/or collective bargaining agreements for the first pay period in June 2025: the number of people (union members) who are having dues withdrawn from their paycheck, the total number of people covered by collective bargaining agreements (union contracts).	07/09/25
07/07/25	07/14/25	None	Heidi Beck, Former Employee	Emails to and from Tasia Burks to Heidi Beck and vice versa and that have the key words Heidi, Beck or Heidi Beck by anyone employed at the Keil building or in an administrative position. Including any former or current HR personnel, excluding emails to and from Deanne Hillman and Heidi Beck which have been already sent to me.	None at this time
07/17/25	07/24/25	None	Tony Jeremey Boomer, Community	Copy of the recently signed MOU on Dual Credit between the IEA teacher's union and your school.	07/22/25
08/11/25	09/125	None	Sheri Reid, SmartProcure	Copy of the recently signed MOU on Dual Credit between the IEA teacher's union and your school.	08/15/25
08/19/25	08/26/25	None	Victoria Banghart, SLP Speech & Lang. Therapy	Copies of speech therapy contracts for the 24-25 and 25-26 school years	08/25/25
08/28/25	09/05/25	None	Arianne Reinke, School Specialty	Bid Tabulation/Recap Request: 111-1866 Construction Paper	09/02/25
09/02/25	09/09/25	None	Owen Wang, Macon Reporter	Names and honors of students in high school recognized by the College Board as AP Scholars.	09/03/25
09/05/25	09/12/25	09/19/25	Janie Jordan, Data Research Parnters	DPS 61 employees, email addresses, title/positions, department location	09/18/25
09/08/25	09/15/25	None	Owen Wang, Macon Reporter	Contracts for school principals who will start the upcoming school year and all active teacher contracts/collective bargaining agreements.	09/15/25
09/08/25	09/15/25	09/22/25	Owen Wang, Macon Reporter	Names of graduates from middle schools and their destination high school.	09/17/25
09/12/25	09/19/25	09/26/25 (Note Extension was not needed)	Amber Egan, Community	Individuals into teacher positions from 2022 through 09/12/25: first middle and last names, school district, school/facility, position/job function, position number, license type (PIDU license, short term substitute license, substitute license, or educator license with stipulations (ELS), etc.), endorsements and hire date.	09/19/25
09/15/25	09/22/25	None	Arianne Reinke, School Specialty	Bid tabulation/recap request for 111-1867 Binder Clips, 111- 1861 Crayola Markers, 111- 1863 Office Supplies, 111-1864 Stapler and 111-177 Invisible Tape.	09/17/25
09/15/25	09/16/25	09/29/25	Donna Ciabatti, Chair of 837/05	Extended/ current contract with Alltown/Beacon, billing from Alltown/ Beacon, as well as all payments paid to said contractor, with emphasis on type of work for each payment.	09/25/25
09/18/25	09/25/25	None	Donna Ciabatti, Chair of 837-05	Financial reports to and from Alltown bus company, the work study, noon runs that are being paid to Alltown/ Beacon and extended/ current contract DPS 61 currently has with this vendor.	09/25/25
10/01/25	10/08/25	None	Owen Wang, Macon Reporter	Names of newly-inducted National Honor Society members from your high schools, National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) finalists, if any, from your high schools Names of National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) winners-- including Semifinalists, Commended Scholars, etc. from your high schools.	10/07/25
10/03/25	10/10/25	10/20/25	Jim Dellert, Former DPS Employee	Emails, test messages delivered or authored on district and personal electronic devises by District 61 employees including the following names: James Dellert, Jim Dellert, James (Jim ) Dellert, Lead Dellert, Lead James Dellert and Lead Jim Dellert between 10/4/23 thru 09/30/25.	None at this time
10/07/25	10/15/25	None	Heidi Beck, Former DPS Employee	Communication regarding Heidi Beck in any and all forms of emails, text messages, memoranda, letters, meeting notes, or other correspondence among the following individuals: Dr. Rochelle Clark, Larry Gray, Deanne Hillman, Valdimir Talley, Jeffery Dase, Mary Brady, Eldon Conn, Monica Wilks, Kamie Meador, Tasia Burks and Jason Fox between 01/01/21 – 10/07/25.	None at this time
10/14/25	10/21/25	10/28/25	Jim Dellert, Former Employee	FOIA REQUEST revisedelectronic communication include the names of, Jim Dellert James Dellert James Jim Dellert Jim James Dellert Lead Dellert Lead James Dellert Lead Jim Dellert Lead Jim James Dellert Lead James Jim Dellert-emails that occurred between 11/01/24 and 10/15/25 sent and or received between administration, SDMS administration, Adam Banner, Val Talley, SDMS secretaries, security and SRO that have worked at SDMS during the requested time frame.	10/28/25
10/24/25	10/31/25		Heidi Beck, Former Employee	My being moved to Hope Academy. Who made the decision and why? My denials to receive further training during the summer of 2023 (in-between working at EHS and Hope). I asked Dr. Gray and Tasia Burks several times and was denied. Communication between Deanna Hillman and other cabinet members and/or the board about my request to be moved to another school or be paid out of my contract in the fall of 2023. Communication between Deanna Hillman and Mary Brady about my evaluation	11/07/25
11/10/25	12/12/25	None	Sheri Reid, SmartProcure	Purchasing records from 08/13/25-11/10/25.	11/11/25
11/18/25	11/25/25	None	Jacob Hunt, Teamsters	Email communications, including attachments, between any representative of Teamsters Local 916 (including but not limited to John Berry, Danielle Watts, JP Fyans and Dave Rush, using any @teamsters916.org address) and any employee of Decatur Public Schools District 61 (including but not limited to Monica Wilks, Caleb Allen, Floyd Bolt, and any other administrator) from 09/15/25–11/18/25, that reference grievance or grievances, IELRB, Hunt, Holloway, in abeyance, on hold until the IELRB makes…

Date Received	Due Date	Extension Due Date	Requestor	Topic Summary	Date Required
11/19/25	12/01/25	None	Justin Wenig, Star Bridge	Financial transactions made by DPS 61, specifically: reflecting all transactions from 07/01/22 to present date, including but not limited to: purchase date, vendor name, description of goods/services purchased, line item quantity, line item price/amount, if vendor names are coded in the file, please provide a vendor list with corresponding codes.	11/20/25
12/2/25	12/9/25	None	CT Mills, Public Info Access LLC	Listing all active employees within your school or district that includes the following fields: Full Name, Title/Position, Work Email Address, Work Location (School Name or Central Office)	12/4/25
12/03/25	12/20/25	12/17/25	Julie Bennick, Substitute in DPS61	Incident that occurred on 10/28/25 and all other correspondence in this incident, emails pertaining to the incident from 10/27/25 to current and letters with my name on them.	None at this time
12/08/25	12/15/25	None	Oshea Smith, Sunlight Records	Purchase orders issued from 07/01/25 – 11/30/25; accounts payable summary, check summary, check register, or vendor analysis report. If available, please include: vendor name, description of purchase or payment and total price or amount paid.	12/20/25
12/10/25	12/17/25	None	Molly Morrow, Chicago Tribune	Emails sent or received by Rochelle Clark, Bill Clevenger, Mike Curry, Floyd Bolt, Valdimir Talley and Kamra Meador between 01/01/25 – 12/10/25 with terms "LifeWise." "Bible study." "Bible studies." "Bible school," and "Bible education."	None at this time
12/11/25	12/18/25	None	Andrea Gilman, Milan, IL	Settlement agreement, release, or separation agreement entered into between the BOE & DPS 61 with Jeff Dase (Jeffrey), including any attachments, exhibits, or addenda, that were approved by the Board or executed during his employment, information including dates of employment, any periods of paid leave with specific dates and reasons, District grievances of him, any legal lawsuits results including his name, those dropped, past or still pending, employment settlement, discrimination complaint...	None at this time
12/15/25	12/22/25	None	CT Mills, Public Info Access LLC	Listing all active employees within your school or district that includes the following fields: Full Name, Title/Position, Work Email Address, Work Location (School Name or Central Office)	12/15/25
12/16/25	12/23/15	01/05/26	Heidi Beck, Former Employee	Documents & comm. regarding the transfer of Heidi Beck to Hope including discussions, recommendations, approvals, and stated reasons for the transfer, mails & comm. to & from Dr. Larry Gray regarding any denials of requests by Heidi Beck for additional training during the summer of 2023, communications & documentation regarding the evaluation of Heidi Beck while assigned to Hope including formal evaluations, informal observations, reports, summaries, notes, and related correspondence, comm. & re	01/05/26
12/17/25	12/29/25	None	Lacey Clark, IL Freedom Foundation	Current DPS 61 employees: first name, middle name, if unavailable, provide middle initial, last name, gender, date of birth, if unavailable, provide age or birth year, job title, department, hire date, if unavailable, provide seniority date, work email, if unavailable, provide formula used to generate employees’ work email addresses, worksite physical address, if unavailable, provide zip code, work mailing address, if unavailable, provide zip code, remote workers, indicate if any employee works	12/19/25
12/18/25	12/30/25	None	Yocelyng Stark, Speech Language Pathologist Parsons Elementary School	MPSED records related to Medicaid reimbursement for speech-language services provided to students of DPS 61,n showing the incoming dollar amounts received as reimbursement for Medicaidbilled speech-language services attributable to DPS 61 for the past two years, this includes, but is not limited to, records reflecting total reimbursement amounts by month and/or fiscal year for this two-year period.	12/23/25
12/18/25	12/30/25	01/07/26	Max Binnington, Reporter from Judiciocracy	Bills from external attorneys or law firms for the year 2024, and through 07/18/25 for 2025, engagement agreements with attorneys or law firms affiliated with any of the legal bills for the time period in item #1, other engagement agreements with attorneys or law firms executed in 2024 and in 2025 through 07/18/25 not affiliated with any legal bills produced in item #1 and documents showing any and all attorneys or legal professionals (attorneys, law firms, law clerks, paralegals and the like) w	01/05/26
12/29/25	01/06/25	None	Heidi Beck, Former Employee	Communications re Heidi Beck for the period 01/01/21-present (2025) exchanged between or among the following individuals: Supt. Dr. Rochelle Clark, Assist. Supt. Larry Gray, Deanne Hillman, Valdimir Talley, Jeffery Dase, Mary Brady, Eldon Conn, Monica Wilks, Kamie Meador, Tasia Burks and Jason Fox	01/06/25
12/31/25	01/08/26	None	Owen Wang, Macon Reporter	Copies of all active full-time aide contracts/collective bargaining agreements.	01/06/26

Jan-Jun 2025

Date Received	Due Date	Extension Due Date	Requestor	Topic Summary	Date Required
01/16/25	01/24/25	None	Sheila Norman, Illinois Retired Teachers Association	Name & email address of certified staff (teachers, admins, counselors, etc.) who are retiring this year.	01/21/25
01/28/25	02/04/25	None	Owen Wang, Macon Reporter	Emails & memos from past 12 months with Lucy Calkins & Units of Study.	02/04/25
01/29/25	02/05/25	02/12/25	Molly Sweeney, WCIA	Emails & internal memos from last 30 days between the BOE regarding expulsions of students 2425-0017, 2425-0018 and 2425-0019, suspensions of two custodians and a school security officer and terminations of a MPSED Paraprofessional.	None at this time
02/12/25	03/14/25	None	Sheri Reid, Smart Procure	Purchasing records from 11/15/24 – 02/12/25	02/13/25
03/13/25	02/21/25	02/28/25	Molly Sweeney, WCIA	Records and documents from the last two months regarding the expulsions of students 2425-0017, 2425-0018 and 2425-0019, suspensions of two custodians and a school security officer and terminations of a MPSED Paraprofessional.	02/28/25
02/20/25	02/27/25	None	Susan Sidener Account Manager, GFL Environmental	Current trash and recycling contract with a private hauler. The current contract with Waste Management is to expire 7.2025 and a bid will be announced in mid-April.	06/26/25
03/04/25	03/11/25	None	Valerie Wells, H&R	Any change in job status of Supt. Rochelle Clark and reason she has not attended board meetings for the months of January and February. Any change in status of Assist. Supt. Larry Gray, who has been referred to as "acting superintendent" recently.	03/07/25
03/12/25	03/19/25	03/26/25	Rashaad Jones, WEIU Reporter for EIU	Salaries of all faculty for 2023- 2024, the costs for health insurance plan offered to faculty including costs for individuals, families and children, and how much incoming faculty receive with no experience, what is the step plan/steps for increasing salary.	03/21/25
03/12/25	03/19/25	None	Aaron Hanford, Attorney at Law	Copy of the 2022-23 District 61 Student Code of Conduct and Parent Handbook.	03/13/25
03/17/25	03/24/25	None	ACB#1	Electronic data maintained by the Treasurer's office for the annual expenses paid to identified vendors, firms, and individuals for the fiscal years 2024, 2014, and 2004.	03/21/25
03/18/25	03/25/25	None	Jackie Hartwell, SCW	Add quoteme@scw.com (SCW) to your email group for quick quotes and the buying consortium(s) that you are currently using.	03/21/25
03/20/25	04/21/25	None	Abbas Khan, CEO, Inovo A1 Solutions LLC	Purchasing records from 07/01/2020 – 02/17/2024	03/21/25
03/24/25	04/01/25	None	ACB #2	Electronic data maintained by the district’s Treasurer for the annual expenses paid to identified vendors, firms, and individuals for the fiscal years 2019, 2009, and 1999.	04/01/25
03/24/25	04/01/25	None	ACB #3	Electronic data maintained by the district’s Treasurer for the annual expenses paid to identified vendors, firms, and individuals for the fiscal years 2020, 2010, and 2000.	04/01/25
03/25/25	04/02/25	None	ACB #4	Electronic data maintained by the district’s Treasurer for the annual expenses paid to identified vendors, firms, and individuals for the fiscal years 2021, 2011, and 2001.	04/01/25
03/26/25	04/03/25	None	ACB #5	Electronic data maintained by the district’s Treasurer for the annual expenses paid to identified vendors, firms, and individuals for the fiscal years 2022, 2012, and 2002.	04/01/25
03/27/25	04/04/25	None	ACB #6	Electronic data maintained by the district’s Treasurer for the annual expenses paid to identified vendors, firms, and individuals for the fiscal years 2023, 2013, and 2003.	04/01/25
03/31/25	04/07/25	None	ACB #7	Electronic data maintained by the district’s Treasurer for the annual expenses paid to identified vendors, firms, and individuals for the fiscal years 2018, 2008, and 1998.	04/03/25
03/31/25	04/07/25	None	ACB #8	Electronic data maintained by the district’s Treasurer for the annual expenses paid to identified vendors, firms, and individuals for the fiscal years 2015 and 2005.	04/03/25
03/31/25	04/07/25	None	ACB #9	Electronic data maintained by the district’s Treasurer for the annual expenses paid to identified vendors, firms, and individuals for the fiscal years 2016 and 2006.	04/03/25
03=31/25	04/07/25	None	ACB #10	Electronic data maintained by the district’s Treasurer for the annual expenses paid to identified vendors, firms, and individuals for the fiscal years 2017 and 2007.	04/03/25
03=31/25	04/07/25	None	Rashaad Jones, WEIU Reporter for EIU	Salaries of all faculty for 2023- 2024 and their names/titles.	04/04/25
04/0125	04/08/25	None	Sarah Harmon, SmartProcure	The current and active contract, and any amendments/renewals, between Cartwheel Health, as the vendor, and DPS 61.	04/03/25
04/01/25	04/08/25	None	Drew Laney, Community	BOE meeting attendance records for every school board meeting since 2021 after the candidates elected got seated, up until the most recent meeting.	04/03/25
04/14/25	04/22/25	None	Susan Sidener, GFL Environmental	Date on when the waste disposal bid will be released.	04/14/25

Date Received	Due Date	Extension Due Date	Requestor	Topic Summary	Date Required
04/22/25	04/28/25	None	Terry Alvino, TK Elevator	The monthly price Otis is currently at?	04/23/25
05/09/25	05/16/25	None	L. Zimmerman, Community Member	Documentation regarding Kevin Hale's resignation date and current salary.	05/15/25
05/13/25	06/12/25	None	Sheri Reid, SmartProcure	Purchasing records from 02/12/25-05/19/25	05/29/25
05/14/25	05/21/25	None	John Berry, Teamster Local 916	Pay rates for Teamster members: Terry Holloway, Jacob Hunt, and Brad Dalton, maintenance crew under SEIU Local 73 and custodians under SEIU Local 73.	05/16/25
05/14/25	05/21/25	None	Jenny Hipskind, WAQD 8 Reporter	Employment records of former employee Jeff Dase: disciplinary records, written reprimands or warnings, and/or notices of investigations, complaints filed by staff, students, parents, or others against Mr. Dase, regardless of whether formal discipline was imposed, reports, memos, or findings resulting from investigations conducted while Mr. Dase was employed, copy of a separation or resignation letter, and any settlement agreements or separation agreements between the District and Mr. Dase.	05/21/25
05/21/25	05/29/25	06/05/25	Dan Noll, Attorney	Contracts for bus services for DPS 61 which were in effect for the 2024-2025 SY, policies related to bus pick up and drop off for DPS61 for 2024-2025, letters, emails, videos, correspondence, notes from phone calls, or any other documents or records memorializing complaints from the public, parents, or anyone else related to dangerous bus stops, busy intersections, etc where students are getting picked up or dropped off since 2020, documents of bus routes for DPS61 for 2024-2025	06/05/25
05/27/25	06/25/25	None	Mike Vichich, Records	Purchasing records and contracts from 01/2020-03/31*2025	None at this time
05/27/25	06/03/25	None	Sebastian Almnes, Community	Enrollment or attendance records from Johns Hill Jr. High for the 1983–1984 academic year for Ronald Kenneth Fitzgerald Jennings.	06/02/25
06/02/25	06/09/25	None	CT MIlls, Public Info Access LLC	List of all school and districtlevel administrators, including: name, title/position, work email address and work location (school name or central office).	06/04/25

July - Dec 2024

Date Received	Due Date	Extension Due Date	Requestor	Topic Summary	Date Respnded
06/05/24	06/12/24	06/20/24	Zach Reynolds, Cunningham Lopez LLC	See July 16, 2024 Open Session Board Packet	06/20/24
06/14/24	06/24/24	None	Bret Arnoldussen, School Specialtiy	Bid tabulations/results for 2024-7 PE Task Force	06/18/24
06/17/24	06/25/24	None	Bret Arnoldussen, School Specialty	Bid tabulations/results for 2024-7 PE Task Force	06/18/24
06/21/24	06/28/24	07/28/24	Zach Reynolds, Cunningham Lopez LLC	See July 16, 2024 Open Session Board Packet	07/08/24
07/03/24	07/24/24	07/18/24	Frank Curry, FOIA Buddy	See July 16, 2024 Open Session Board Packet	non at this time
07/17/24	07/24/24	07/31/24	Rylan Klatt, Macon Reporter	School district vendor contracts/agreements valued over $1000 that will be in effect for the 24-25 school year and employment contracts and collective bargaining agreemetns for any full-time aide janitorial staff member, teacher and princiipals.	07/31/24
07/29/24	08/05/24	08/12/24	Heidi Beck, Community Member	Email communications between Deanne Hillman and Heidi Back from 08/01/24-05/31/24	None at this time
08/16/24	09/17/24	none	Sheri Reid, Smart Procure	Purchasing records from 05/22/24-08/16/24	08/20/24
08/19/24	08/26/24	09/03/24	Owen Wang, Macon Reporter	Staff/Teacher, Title and Salaries	09/03/24
08/27/24	09/04/24	none	Owen Wang, Macon Reporter	School clubs for 2024-25 SY	09/26/24
08/29/24	09/06/24	none	Owen Wang, Macon Reporter	Schools calendars for 2024-2025 SY	09/26/24
08/30/24	09/09/24	None	Owen Wang, Macon Reporter	Official enrollment reporter to ISBE	09/26/24
09/06/24	09/13/24	None	Lisa Holmes, Community	Footage at Johns Hill on 08/30/24	09/13/24
09/11/24	09/18/24	None	Glyn Coakley, Eplan Bidding	Bid tabulation for playgrounds.	09/26/24
9/16/24	9/23/24	NOne	Lisa Holms, Community	Footage at Johns Hill on 08/30/24	09/20/24
09/19/24	09/26/24	None	Owen Wang, Macon Reporter	Evacuation plan	09/26/24
10/08/24	10/15/24	None	Jered Piepenbrink, IL Dept. of Employment Security	Public records that include job titles, wages (hourly or salary), department, and hours worked (if part time) of all employees of Decatur Public School District 61 listed on the Quarterly Contribution report for the payroll that included May 12, 2024.	10/14/24
10/10/24	10/17/24	None	Carlee Bronkema, WAND Reporter	Communications sent between 09/01/24- 10/09/24 containing the following words/phrases: Dennis Lab School, Dennis security guard, Dennis inappropriate relationship, Dennis Special Education (or SPED) student; specifically phrases about an inappropriate relationship between a SPED student and security guard.	10/14/24
10/10/24	10/17/24	None	Arianne Reinke, School Specialty	Bid tabulations/results 111-1848 Notebook, 111- 1849 Envelopes, 111- 1850 General Supplies and 111-1851 Paper	10/14/24
10/15/24	10/23/24	10/30/24	Carlee Bronkema, WAND Reporter	Communications sent between 10/01/24- 10/09/24 containing the following words/phrases: Dennis Lab School, Dennis security guard, Dennis inappropriate relationship, Dennis assault, Dennis SPED student.	10/30/24
10/25/24	11/01/24	11/11/24	Leara Evans, Retired DPS Employee	Policy the district uses as the rationale for student expulsions, number of expulsions for the current 24-25 school year by gender, race or ethnicity and number of prior discipline referrals on record for each student expelled, number of discipline referrals for each individual student expelled during the 22-23 and 23-24 school years and the District’s policy or procedures followed when placing students in Alternative programs.	None at this time
10/29/24	11/06/24	None	Ashley Garner, DPS Parent	Records related to Seveon Robinson for the past five years: disciplinary records, attendance records, cumulative educational files, including academic test scores and grade reports, academic or behavioral interventions that Seveon Robinson was recommended for or participated in, including but not limited to afterschool tutoring, mentoring, counseling, and MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) interventions.	11/06/24
11/04/24	11/12/24	None	Carlee Bronkema, WAND Reporter	Emails, text messages and memos between Kamie Meador, Maria Robertson, and Dr. Rochelle Clark about an incident involving a Dennis Lab Kindergarten student on 10/24/24 between 12:00 p.m. and 12:30 p.m.	None at this time
11/08/24	12/12/24	None	Karen Garcia,	Employee Contact Info	11/18/24
11/12/24	11/19/24	None	K. C. Crabb, Office Depot	Bid Results #111-1838	11/13/24
11/14/24	12/18/24	None	Sheri Reid, Smart Procure	Purchasing records from 08/20/24 – 11/14/24	11/18/24
11/26/24	12/05/24	12/12/24	Isabel Pena, Community	Notes, letters, memos regarding Jeffery Dase sent to DPS school board from 01/01/2023- 01/15/2023.	None at this time

Jan-June 2024

Date Received	Due Date	Extension Due Date	Requestor	Topic Summary	Date Responded
01/11/24	01/19/24	None	Mai-Anh Pham, Legal Action Chicago	Balance of unpaid bills for school meals, amount of outstanding school meal debt (SMD) from the previous school years that were recovered from the most recent school year, # of pupils with SMD in their account, contracts between you and any 3rd party entity whose duties include recovering SMD from parents or students and bylaws or policies that you maintain in relation to SMD.	01/19/24
01/16/24	01/23/24	None	Bret Arnoldussen, School Specialty	Bid tabulations for the for 111-1822 General Supplies.	01/19/24
01/17/24	01/25/24	None	Nathan Mihelich, IL Retired Teachers Association	Name and email address of any certified staff (teachers, admin, nurses, counselors, etc.) who are retiring this year.	01/19/24
01/22/24	01/29/24f	02/05/24	Alyssa Patrick, WAND	Employee file of Benjamin Evans, except for records exempt by Section 7, disciplinary records from 11/2022 – 11/2023, emails or texts regarding his discipline and complaints filed against Mr. Evans by staff, students and parents.	02/05/24
02/02/24	02/09/24	None	Alyssa Patrick, WAND	Emails sent to and from Principal Jared Lamb, Supt. Dr. Rochelle Clark, Assist. Supt. Jeff Dase and Denise Swarthout from 01/24/24 01/31/24 including the words "Stephen Decatur Middle School", "fight", "parents", "physical altercation", "incident", "tip", "plan for "fight", "parents coming to school" or "dismissal".	02/09/24
02/09/24	02/20/24	02/27/24	Alyssa Patrick, WAND	Emails to & from Jared Lamb, Rochelle Clark, Jeff Dase & Denise Swarthout: 01/25/24- 01/26/24 words Stephen Decatur Middle School, fight, parents, physical altercation, incident, tip, plan for fight, parents coming to school or dismissal.	02/22/24
02/12/24	02/20/24	None	Megan Shannon, Fegan Scott LLC	Communications to/from Raptor T. regarding data breach or leak which left sensitive school records and personal information of students, parents, and school staff unprotected.	02/20/24
02/20/24	03/21/24	None	Sheri Reid, SmartProcure	Purchasing records from 11/20/23 – 02/20/24.	02/20/24
02/22/24	02/29/24	None	Bret Arnoldussen, School Specialty	Bid tabulations for the for 111-1824 General Supplies.	02/22/24
02/25/24	03/05/24	None	Leara Evans, Retired Employee	http://www.dps61.org/EvansFOIAs030524	03/05/24
02/27/24	03/07/24	None	Leara Evans, Retired Employee	http://www.dps61.org/EvansFOIAs030524	TBD
02/27/24	03/07/24	None	Leara Evans, Retired Employee	http://www.dps61.org/EvansFOIAs030524	TBD
02/29/24	03/07/24	None	Alyssa Patrick, WAND	Employee file of Nathan Gipson, except for records exempt by Section 7, disciplinary records from 08/2023 – 02/2024, emails or texts regarding his discipline and complaints filed against Mr. Gipson by staff, students and parents.	03/07/24

July-Dec 2023

Date Received	Due Date	Extension Due Date	Requestor	Topic Summary	Date Responded
07/05/23	07/12/23	07/19/23	Jodi S. Cohen and Jennifer Smith Richards, ProPublica	Correspondence between the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights or its representatives since 02/02/23, related to the OCR Title VI – discipline complaint filed on that date, Subpoenas or requests for information since 02/02/23 related to the OCR complaint, depositions or other written statements since 02/02/23 taken in connection with the OCR complaint and reports created or completed since 02/02/23 in connection with the OCR complaint or the underlying incidents or allegations. T	07/17/23
07/10/12	07/17/12	None	Andrew Montgomery, Community Member	Emails including Andrew Taylor, BOE members, DPS 61 staff, or BLDD Architects as sender or recipient related to American Dreamer STEM Academy from 01/01/22-09/30/22, phone records for calls made to or received from BLDD Architects from 01/01/22-09/30/22, September 30, 2022 and BOE Executive Session or DPS 61 administration meeting minutes involving American Dreamer STEM Academy from 01/01/22-09/30/22.	07/17/23
07/12/23	07/19/23	None	Bret Arnoldussen, schoolSpecialty	Bid Tab for 2023-7 Backpacks Supplies and Hygiene Kits.	07/17/23
07/19/23	07/26/23	None	Cassie Oakely, SchoolSpecialty	Bid Results for 87-1540 Franklin Grove Flex Seating and 87-1539 South Shores Flex Seating III.	07/20/23
07/20/23	07/27/23	None	Ali Molski, School Outfitters	Bid Results for 2023-11 and 2023-12.	07/24/23
07/24/23	07/31/23	None	Ramona Monique Neil	Invoices and checks made payable to the following business for any time period: School Leadership Solutions, LLC, dba Lead 180 and/or EduCompass.	07/26/23
07/26/23	08/02/23	None	Mark Pieske, Community Member	It is my understanding Alana Banks no longer has residency in the district. Can you confirm if this is true and if so how can she continue to be a Board member?	07/28/23
07/26/23	08/02/23	None	T. Howely, Community Member	Pls send me the attendance sheet for this current board since their initial meeting in May of this year ……..for each open session meeting they have had	07/28/23
07/26/23	08/02/23	None	Ramona Monique Neal	Correction, can you please provide the Tax-Exempt Number for School Leadership Solutions dba Lead 180?	07/28/23
07/28/23	08/04/23	None	Craig Rich, Onward Injury Law	We request the following in regards to the incident of 10/7/22 involving Video Camera Footage - All audio and video camera footage from the school bus on which this incident occurred.	08/04/23
07/26/23	08/02/23	None	Cassie Oakely, School Specialty	Bid Results/Recap 2023-12	07/28/23
08/02/23	08/09/23	08/16/23	Reed Sutman, Decatur Vote	http://www.dps61.org/SutmanFOIAs080223	08/16/23
08/11/23	08/18/23	None	Reed Sutman, Decatur Vote	Aug 1 Zoom - Audio or video recording of the meeting, list of attendees, including the time each host & attendee joined & exited the meeting, any chats, questionnaires, or other digital records related to the meeting, agenda & packet/related documents/presentations and meeting minutes.	08/18/23
08/15/23	08/22/23	08/29/23	Reed Sutman, Decatur Vote	http://www.dps61.org/SutmanFOIAs091223	08/29/23
08/16/23	08/23/23	08/30/23	Reed Sutman, Decatur Vote	http://www.dps61.org/SutmanFOIAs091223	08/30/23
08/16/23	08/23/23	08/30/23	Reed Sutman, Decatur Vote	http://www.dps61.org/SutmanFOIAs091223	08/30/23
08/22/23	09/21/23	None	Sheri Reid, Smart Procure	Purchasing Records from 05/24/23-08/22/23	08/31/23
08/29/23	09/06/23	None	Bret Arnoldussen, Smart Procure	Bid Tab-111-1806 General Supplies-II Decatur SD 61	08/30/23
08/29/23	09/06/23	09/13/23	Emily Hays, IL Public Media	Copies of the most recent, 10-year safety survey reports from all schools (except Dennis since you already posted those two reports from 2013 online).	09/13/23
08/29/23	09/06/23	09/13/23	Reed Sutman, Decatur Vote	http://www.dps61.org/sutmanfoias091223	09/13/23
09/11/23	09/18/23	None	Janine Asmus, School Librarians	Identify (by employee name and work email address) each and every District employee who is certified as a school librarian (meaning they have the school library licensure and/or endorsement in library media) and who is currently working in that capacity in your District's library/libraries/media centers this academic school year.	09/15/23
09/13/23	09/20/23	None	Reed Sutman, Decatur Vote	A record of attendance of School Board members at Board Meetings. If you need a date range, let's do January 1, 2019 - September 12, 2023.	09/15/23
09/13/23	09/20/23	09/27/23	Reed Sutman, Decatur Vote	Documents, emails, or other records detailing repair estimates for Dennis Lab's Mosaic and Kaleidoscope Campuses, regarding 2023 structural issues.	09/27/23
09/22/23	09/29/23	None	Reed Sutman, Decatur Vote	Can I get the August 23, 2022 meeting minutes?	09/28/23
09/26/23	10/03/23	None	Vanessa Martinez, Lakeshore Learning Materials	Award Inquiry: 2023-15 Muffley Elementary Flex Seating and 87-1540 Franklin Grove Flex Seating	09/28/23
10/02/23	10/09/23	None	Bret Arnoldussen, School Specialty	Bid Tab-111-1807 GENERAL SUPPLIES-IL-Decatur SD 61 - I am requesting pricing from all vendors that submitted for this bid.	10/03/23
10/03/23	10/10/23	10/17/23	Reed Sutman, Decatur Vote	http://www.dps61.org/sutmanFOIAs101023	10/17/23
10/05/23	10/12/23	10/19/23	Reed Sutman, Decatur Vote	http://www.dps61.org/sutmanFOIAs101023	10/17/23
10/06/23	10/13/23	None	Valerie Wells, Herald & Review	Records showing what actions DPS took to repair issues noted in the 2013 health/life/safety building inspections required by Illinois School Code 2- 3.12, primarily the inspections of Dennis Lab School’s Mosaic and Kaleidoscope campuses.	10/10/23
10/16/23	10/23/23	None	Clarissa Adkins, DPS Parent	Copy of the surveillance video of the incident that occurred between Benjamin Evans and Dominic Brooks 09/29/23 between 9:30am and 10:30am in the hall during/around art class at 1 Educational Park Decatur, IL 62526 and any and all letters and documents from District 61 pertaining to SASS intervention or staff having to restrain Dominic since he's been enrolled.	10/23/23
10/24/23	11/01/23	None	Reed Sutman, Decatur Vote	Detailed payment records regarding the Summer Programs.	10/31/23
10/25/23	11/02/23	None	Reed Sutman, Decatur Vote	All emails sent by Board members yesterday, October 24, 2023 through today October 25, 2023.	11/02/23
10/25/23	11/02/23	None	Reed Sutman, Decatur Vote	Requests by a 3rd grade Parsons teacher to get a TA during or leading up to this school year and emails/texts or other communications discussing such a request.	11/02/23
11/03/23	11/10/23	None	Reed Sutman, Decatur Vote	All emails sent by Board members on October 13, 2023 and October 14, 2023.	11/10/23
11/13/23	11/20/23	11/29/23	Reed Sutman, Decatur Vote	http://www.dps61.org/SutmanFOIAs121223	11/29/23
11/16/23	12/19/23	None	Karen Garcia, Smart Procure	Current employee: First Name, Last Name, Position Title, Department, Direct Phone Number (if does not exist, list main phone number with extension), Business Cell Phone (if provided by Decatur Public Schools), Email Address and Office Address (Address, City, State, Zip)	11/20/23
11/16/23	11/27/23	None	Reed Sutman, Decatur Vote	FOIA Request from & FOIA Response sent to T. Howely on 7/28/23, attendance sheet for this current board since their initial meeting in May of this year ........for each open session meeting they have had and FOIA Request from & FOIA Response sent to Craig Rich on 8/4/2023 regarding the incident of 10/7/22 involving Video Camera Footage	11/27/23
11/17/23	11/28/23	None	Katherine Casey, Ed.S., Science of Reading Illinois	Literacy curriculum used within your district: 1) names of the universal/core curricula currently used to teach reading in Kindergarten through 3rd grade, 2) grade levels these are used if there are multiple reading curricula, 3) dates the reading curricula were purchased, 4) and plans to purchase different literacy curricula in the future	11/27/23
11/17/23	11/28/23	12/05/23	Reed Sutman, Decatur Vote	http://www.dps61.org/SutmanFOIAs121223	12/05/23
11/20/23	12/21/23	None	Sherri Reed, Smart Procure	Purchasing records from 08/30/23 – 11/20/23	11/27/23
11/27/23	12/04/23	None	Patrick Lee, IL State Volunteer for Change	IAQ and Environmental Testing - report that includes mold spore sampling data for each of your schools	11/30/23
11/30/23	12/07/23	12/14/23	Reed Sutman, Decatur Vote	http://www.dps61.org/SutmanFOIAs121223	12/14/23
12/01/23	12/08/23	None	Zachary Rowley, Merritt Research Services	The 12/31/2021 and 12/31/2022 GASB 68 reports for the district’s participation in the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund	12/04/23
12/01/23	12/08/23	12/15/23	Charles Tiner, MPSED Employee	DPS and MPSED emails, responses, replies and all information pertaining to Charles Tiner including Text messages used from school issues cell phones and any other communications dated back to beginning of my employment until present and thereafter	12/18/23
12/07/23	12/14/23	None	Bret Arnoldussen, School Specialty	Bid Tab 111-1819 General Supplies District 61	12/07/23
12/15/23 (3 separate FOIAs)	12/27/23	01/04/24	Reed Sutman, Decatur Vote	http://www.dps61.org/SutmanFOIAs010924	01/04/24

Jan-June 2023

Date Received	Due Date	Extension Due Date	Requestor	Topic Summary	Date Responded
01/04/23	01/11/23	01/19/23	Matthew Spain, Attorney	Discipline administered to and/or received by Scott Wagner during his employment with public body and any investigation(s) and communications associated with that discipline; employee file of Scott Wagner, minus any records exempt by Section 7 of the Act or redactions of personal information; and any correspondence, related to any complaints filed or lodged against Scott Wagner.	01/18/23
01/10/23	01/18/23	None	James Dellert, DPS Employee	How many people applied for this position (Safety & Security Admin), qualifications of persons interviewed, why the position closed but re-opened, why some were interviewed yet other not, qualifications or not, correspondence in reference to this job opening and any person the applied for the position and correspondence about this position with the name James Dellert, Jim Dellert, Dellert included.	01/18/2023
01/26/23	02/02/23	None	Nathan Mihelich, IL Retired Teachers Assoc.	Name and email address of certified staff (teachers, administrators, nurses, counselors, etc.) who are retiring this year	01/27/23
02/01/23	02/08/23	None	Mike Mathieson, Community Member	Form that shows Contracts Exceeding $25,000, and the website links to the form for 2015, 2016 through the most current year reported and current fiscal year and the previous FY of contract awarded greater than $10,000 (value, company name and duration.	02/07/23
02/03/23	02/10/23	None	Nick Wong, Community Member	Names of employees (teachers, admin, staff, etc.) of the district, their job title (including grade/subject or dept), home base, years in district, FTE hour, salary amounts, and lane/step if applicable for School Year 2022 and 2021.	02/07/23
02/05/23	02/13/23	None	Ruth Cortright, Community Member	U.S. Mail addresses for the current board members	02/07/23
02/07/23	02/14/23	None	Sara Madden-Jones, Paralegal	Documents and video concerning any incidents or complaints related to bus driver Irene M. Henderson from 01/01/22-10/10/22	02/09/23
02/15/23	02/23/23	None	Reed Sutman, Community Member	In a recent meeting, the superintendent said they received a very long email from one of the staff that was very concerning, then proceeded to talk about how the community needs to help with the school. I'd like a copy of the email that she was referencing, as well as any forwards & replies of said email.	02/22/23
02/23/23	03/24/23	None	Sheri Reid, SmartProcure	Purchasing records from 12/05/22 – 02/23/23.	03/02/23
02/27/23	02/28/23	None	Paul Phillips, Public Data Research	DPS 61 employees first and last names, email address, title/position, and primary department.	02/28/23
03/01/23	03/08/23	03/15/23	Valerie Wells, Herald & Review	Number of expulsions approved in each of the last five years: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and so far this year up to today. Of those expulsions, how many were referred to alternative education.	03/14/23
03/03/23	03/10/23	None	Records Management, Catalyst Financial Group, LLC	For all employees of Decatur Public School District, could you please provide me with the following information? Name, Position/Title, Years of Service in the District, Years of Service in the State,Building/Location, District Email Address, Personal Phone Number, Personal Email Address and Salary.	3/10/23
03/09/23	03/15/23	None	Alida Graham, Retired Teacher/DEA President	Expulsion data for the 2022-23 school year: date of the expulsion, age, race and gender of the student and were they provided a stay for alternative.	03/14/23
03/10/23	03/17/23	None	Willie Harris, DPS Employee	Copy of complaint.	03/16/23
03/13/23	03/20/23	None	Alyssa Patrick, WAND	Employee file of Scott Wagner, except for records exempt by Section 7, disciplinary records from 01/2020 through 01/2023, emails or texts regarding his discipline. Lastly, I am requesting any complaints filed against Mr. Wagner by staff, students and parents.	03/20/23
03/15/23	03/22/23	None	Alida Graham, Retired Teacher/DEA President	Who are the two who were offered alternative?	03/16/23
03/15/23	04/17/23	None	Reed Sutman, Community Member	Does DPS 61 offer curriculum in trades such as wood shop, auto shop, welding, and home-economics? If yes, can I get a full list of trades programs that are available and what grades are eligible for 03/29/23 said programs & what schools they're offered in?	03/29/23
03/15/23	04/17/23	None	Reed Sutman, Community Member	Extended Day: Is there a volunteer aspect of the program? I.e. can HS students, parents, or community members help tutor students after school? Is there a similar program for high school students? What is the estimated annual cost for the district? When was this program first implemented?	03/29/23
03/22/23	03/29/23	04/05/23	Dylan Wayne Nunn, Community Member	Emails containing the names Dylan Nunn, Dylan, Nunn or referencing Dylan Nunn, Dylan, and Nunn from 03/01/1803/21/23 and full employee file for Dylan Nunn.	04/05/23
03/30/23	04/06/23	04/14/23	Alyssa Patrick, WAND	Emails sent 11/06-11/13/2020 regarding a "Nudity Activity Alert" flagged for illicit content uploaded or downloaded to a DPS61 Google Drive account and emails from 11/6/20 through 11/13/20 with the words: Scott Wagner, Nudity Alert, Firewall and Pornographic images.	04/12/23
03/07/23	03/14/23	None	Bret Arnoldussen, SchoolSpecialty	Bid Tabulation for quote 111-1791 Please note: this response was delayed due to request was in “junk” mail.	03/30/23
03/14/23	03/21/23	None	Bret Arnoldussen, SchoolSpecialty	Bid Tabulation for quote 111-1793 Please note: this response was delayed due to request was in “junk” mail.	03/30/23
04/04/23	04/12/23	None	Janie Jordan, Data Research	Employee’s first and last names, e-mail address, title/position, and primary campus/department location.	04/06/23
04/05/23	04/13/23	None	Tara Todd, NCS Credit	Copy of the payment bond that the general contractor obtained for the project: SDMS Gymnasium Bleacher Replacement. We believe the general contractor for this project is: Tank Construction Supplies LLC, 1807 S. Neil Street, Champaign, IL 61820.	04/06/23
04/06/23	04/14/23	None	Dylan Wayne Nunn, Community Member	Emails containing the names Dylan Nunn and Nunn or referencing Dylan Nunn and Nunn from 03/01/2018 – 03/21/2023.	04/12/23
04/10/23	04/17/23	None	Bret Arnoldussen, SchoolSpecialty	Bid Tabulation for quote 111-1794	4/12/23
04/18/23	04/25/23	None	Dylan Wayne Nunn, Community Member	Emails containing the names "Dylan Nunn” and “Nunn" from 03/01/18 – 04/17/23 sent by any and all members of the Board of Education from the stated time (Beth Nolan, Kendall Briscoe, Beth Creighton, Courtney Carson, Sherri Perkins, Dan Oakes, Brian Hodges, etc.) Henry Walker, Deanne Hilman, Jason Crutcher, Michael Dugan, Jason Fox, and Melissa Bradford.	04/25/23
04/20/23	05/19/23	None	Karen Garcia, SmartProcure	Current employee: First Name, Last Name, Position Title, Department, Direct Phone Number (if does not exist, list main phone number with extension), Business Cell Phone (if provided by Decatur Public Schools), Email Address and Office Address (Address, City, State, Zip).	04/25/23
04/27/23	05/04/23	None	Mark Pieke, Community Member	Why the supt annual salary that was approved last night wasn’t rounded numbers vs carrying it out to the penny? Example $213, 456.78 vs just $213,500. Seems way too much detail.	05/01/23
05/01/23	05/08/23	05/15/23	Leara Evans, Retired Teacher	Identification numbers, dates of expulsions, length of expulsion, dates of infractions that led to expulsions and the infraction that caused the expulsions of all students expelled from DPS during the 2022/2023 school year, comparable expulsion data for DPS for the previous 5 years, race, gender and age of each student expelled since 01/2023, reason these students were not referred to Alternative placement and were the students provided Behavior Intervention service or Counseling services?	05/15/23
05/03/23	05/10/23	None	Sharmayne Soliman	Current employees name, work location, school/department, Title, teacher, administrator, and e-mail address.	05/04/23
05/04/23	05/11/23	05/18/23	Leara Evans, Retired Teacher	Breakdown of the staff currently working at the Garfield Learning Academy by category, academic subjects, grade level and job titles, how many students are currently enrolled in GLA program? Entry criteria for entering GLA? Exit criteria for exiting the GLA program? What type of documentation tools are used to monitor student progress in the GLA program?	05/18/23
05/05/23	05/13/23	None	Dylan Wayne Nunn, Community Member	Emails containing the names "Dylan Nunn” and “Nunn" from 03/01/18 – 04/17/23 sent by Henry Walker, Michael Dugan, Deanne Hilman, and Jason Fox.	05/13/23
05/11/23	05/18/12	None	Brent Swansen, Former Employee	All records and documentation about myself sent either to my mailing address or this email pertaining to my time at DPS61. I am requesting any records or documentation pertaining to my time at Thomas Jefferson Middle School.	05/24/23
05/16/23	06/15/23	None	Reed Sutman, DecaturVote	Copy of the 2022-2023 school budget for Garfield Learning Academy?	05/31/23
05/16/23	05/23/23	05/31/23	Dylan Wayne Nunn, Community Member	Emails sent by these 4 parties that contain “Dylan Nunn” or just “Nunn” for the stated time period (March 1st, 2018 - April 17, 2023 sent by Henry Walker, Michael Dugan, Deanne Hillman, and Jason Fox).Emails composed by these parties or emails that are replies from them to other emails sent to them.	05/31/23
05/24/23	06/23/23	None	Sheri Reid, SmartProcure	Purchasing records from 03/02/23 – 05/24/23.	05/31/23
05/30/23	06/06/23	None	Thomas Hayden, Editor	Contracts between District 61 and Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates from years 2020, 2021, 2022, or 2023.	05/31/23
06/01/23	06/08/23	None	Reed Sutman, DecaturVote	Any documented finding that the district "already knew there were issues," any communications from administrators and staff voicing their concerns, any communications with engineers / engineering firms to schedule an examination, including the engineer who did the assessment and any others that were sought, any documentation showing that the engineer's first opening was Tuesday, any prior assessments of the buildings' structural stability, the full content of any communications (including FOIA r	06/08/23
06/02/23	06/09/23	None	David Pierce, Fox Illinois	Can you provide me with the data of students suspended out-of-school and expelled for this past school year?	06/08/23
06/07/23	06/14/23	None	Valerie Wells, Herald & Review	The report from the structural engineer who inspected the Mosaic and Kaleidoscope campuses of Dennis School on May 30, names of that firm and the firm that is doing/has done the second inspection of those buildings and emails mentioning Dennis School campuses in regard to concerns about the integrity of both or either building from 03/01/23-06/06/23 (today).	06/14/23
06/08/23	06/15/23	None	Deborah Born, Illini Supply	Bid Tab for Quote #87-1533	6/12/23
06/13/23	06/21/23	None	Andrew Matthews, IEA Uniserv Director	Electronic communication (including emails, text messages, and any internal messaging systems) between Mike Curry and Mary Ann Schloz from 05/01/23 – 06/13/23.	06/21/23
06/13/23	06/21/23	06/28/23	Andrew Montgomery, Community Member	Documents, bids, contracts, building designs, structural evaluations, emails, etc related to the replacement plan of Dennis Lab School campus and/or Dennis Lab School building inspections, communications among DPS 61 administration, board, and Dennis Lab School administration for the last 5 years.	06/28/23
06/14/23	06/22/23	None	Thomas Emalfarb, Law	Payment bond for Project: Stadium Press Box - MacArthur High School 1499 W. Grand Avenue Decatur, IL 62522	06/21/23
06/23/23	06/30/23	07/10/23	Andrew Montgomery, Community Member	Documents, emails, contracts, proposals, bids related to the New American Dreamer STEM Academy School being built at the old Oak Grove location.	07/07/23
06/23/23	06/30/23	07/10/23	Reed Sutman, Decatur Vote	Documents and communications related to the following meetings, 06/19/23 Webinar meeting regarding the Dennis Schools, faculty meetings with Dennis Staff for 10/24/22, 11/02/22, 02/07/23, 03/07/23, 04/17/23, all communications related to the Dennis Structural issues 06/01-23/23, communications with BFW Engineering and Klingner & Associates between 09/22 and 06/23, purchase orders and contracts, communications with media, communications with Kent Metzger's maintenance foreman and mason, emails of	07/10/23
06/28/23	07/06/23	None	Dale Storie, BluSource	Bid Request# 2023-7	06/28/23

Aug-Dec 2022

Date Received	Due Date	Extension Due Date	Requestor	Topic Summary	Date Responded
08/01/22	08/08/22	None	Robert Mooth, Community Member	Has the Board publicly reviewed the "culturally relevant" books that 1st Educators is putting in the classrooms and school libraries? If so, what were their findings? Was the public notified of, and allowed to review, these books before their injection into our school system? Please send me a complete list of all the books and materials already placed and being used, as well as a list of books that will be placed, in the schools.	08/01/22
08/02/22	08/09/22	None	Lloyd Davis, SED Parent	Date was supposed to be 8/1/2021 - 7/25/2022 can you try to locate a foia under same grounds but under different dates. Records on emails and text messages and phone calls as well documents received by Sarah Schrader of Macon piatt special education department. this documents in essence should reveal any document made against myself or report. this should day from 8/1/2022- current date. District phone number is 217-619-2167. I'm Request all documents and evidence that considered to be against m	08/10/22
08/04/22	08/11/22	None	Illinois Policy Research	Number of complaints about teachers with the district by parents each year, beginning with 2016-2017 school year until present and process that the school district uses when it receives a complaint about a teacher from a parent.	08/11/22
08/08/22	08/15/22	None	Leara Evans, Retired Teacher	Contract for purchase or bill of sale for the old Garfield Elementary/Durfee building located on the corner of Grand and Oakland, district policy on dropping retired teachers from the substitute list, job description for behavior interventionist positions, Communication Director’s job description and the District’s organizational chart.	08/15/22
08/08/22	08/15/22	None	Leara Evans, Retired Teacher	Retired person to the Director of Human Resources position without posting the position and at least attempting to fill the vacancy. Jason Hood resigned on March 24, 2022 and Deanne Hillman retired officially on June 1, 2022. TRS requires that retirees can only fill vacant positions after the district has exhausted all efforts to fill a position.	08/15/22
08/08/22	08/15/22	None	Joshua Gibson Community Member	School board meeting by-laws.	08/11/22
08/09/22	08/16/22	None	Krystal Bennett, All Town Bus Driver	Contract between dps61 and alltown.	08/11/22
08/10/22	08/17/22	None	Donna Ciabatti, Community Member	Dps61's current contract with Alltown bus company.	08/11/22
08/10/22	08/17/22	08/24/22	Jacob Jenkins, Community Member	HR Director Posting, date it was posted and on what sites, for how long, and when it was reposted on those sites, internal and external applicants for this position, email or text messages between BOE, HR Staff, any District employee, DLTD, with the words Human Resources Director, or HR and Board policy or ethics violation associated with interviewing Sarah Oakes while her father is a sitting board member and president.	08/24/22
08/10/22	08/17/22	None	Steve Grimm, Community Member	Andrew Taylor’s email.	08/11/22
08/11/22	08/18/22	None	Leara Evans, Retired Teacher	Dates that Director of HR position was posted from 03/24/22-08/01/22, dates that Director of Labor Relations position was posted from 03/24/22-08/01/22, how long must positions be posted as required by the Department of Labor, how many applicants were interviewed for DHR and the dates, job descriptions for DHR and DLR, posting for the Vacant School Board position that was announced at last night’s 08/09/22 meeting and deadline for receiving resumes and the name of the person it should be sent t	08/18/22
08/26/22	09/02/22	None	Annie Ma, Reporter, Associated Press	Data regarding the number of student expulsions held in abeyance in the district for each school year between 2016-2021, including raw total, raw data by race, raw data by gender, raw data for students with an IEP/non-IEP, raw data for students by grade in school and raw data for students placed in an alternative educational program and policies or standard agreements for expulsions held in abeyance contingent on placement in an alternative educational program, or any other similar term or pract	08/30/22
08/26/22	09/02/22	None	Joshua Gibson, Community Member	Why submission deadline was extended since I applied to fill the seat and wasn’t ever contacted? Also, what is the board’s policy in the by-laws that prompts an extension in submission deadline in relation to this and if there are any laws, by-laws and/or requirements for posting openings for open board seats and minimum/maximum time frame to keep the posting open as well as the same time frame for filling the seat?	08/31/22
08/29/22	09/28/22	None	Sheri Reid, SmartProcure	Purchasing records from 05/31/22 – 08/29/22.	08/30/22
09/07/22	09/14/22	None	Leara Evans, Retired Teacher	List of names that applied for the school board position, how many minority teachers are there working that hold a Professional Educators License (PEL), how many retired teachers that hold a PEL are working and filling vacant positions as long term substitutes, what is the pay for a long term substitute that hold a PEL, what is the pay for a substitute that does not hold a PEL, written copy of the procedure or policy that is used to drop retired teachers from the district’s substitute list, how	09/14/22
09/07/22	09/14/22	None	Lori Nelson, Community Member	Emails by the board members pertaining to the seat position that became open on august 23, 2022. This should include all emails about to the submissions received, the resume and letter of interest deadline extension, and any email regarding selecting a new member filling the open seat since the new deadline of august 31to now and since the beginning of the procedure to fill the now open seat.	09/14/22
09/09/22	09/16/22	None	Joshua Gibson, Community Member	Did I need to make it clear somehow that I met the qualifications laid out in the posting of the board of education seat opening?	09/14/22
09/09/22	09/16/22	None	Valerie Wells, H&R Reporter	List of the person(s) who applied for the board seat vacated by former President Dan Oakes.	09/14/22
09/14/22	09/21/22	None	Joshua Gibson, Community Member	Emails by any member of the board of education relating to the open board seat. The opening, the discussion of the candidates, the selection, the deadline extension and reason, everything.	09/21/22
09/14/22	09/21/22	None	Margie Payne, School Specialty	Bid tab information for Quote # 666-79.	09/15/22
09/16/22	09/23/22	None	Jennifer Smith Richards, Chicago Tribune	MPSED for 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021, and 2021-2022 school years: number of student referrals to law enforcement, number of student arrests by law enforcement for and number of incidents in which a student was cited or ticketed by law enforcement for an ordinance violation.	09/21/22
09/21/22	09/28/22	None	Brea Acosta, EHS Parent	Incident regarding our daughter on 8/18/22 at EHS.	09/28/22
09/21/22	09/28/22	None	Melanie Ishmael, MPSED Parent	Number of students in each DPS building and in each class, number of long-term subs total and in each building, number of certified teachers on DPS’s payroll total and per building, number of Paraprofessionals in DPS total and per building, number of open teacher and paraprofessional positions, list of supplies that fall under instructional and the process to acquire, list of supplies that fall under the school budget and the process to acquire and where is the process for getting supplies docum	09/28/22
09/22/22	09/29/22	None	James Dellert, DPS Employee	Can you provide information to obtain the FOIA forms, request, requirements and what the district will and will not provide? Of course, by law not district policy.	09/28/22
09/29/22	10/06/22	None	Leara Evans, Retired Teacher	School district board agendas for March 12, 2019 and June 9, 2022, number of teaching positions for 2022/2023, number of vacant positions and vacant positions are filled by retired teachers.	10/06/22
09/30/22	10/07/22	None	Brea Acosta, EHS Parent	Incident regarding our daughter on 8/18/22 at EHS.	10/07/22
10/03/22	10/10/22	None	Valerie Wells, H&R Reporter	Minutes and recordings of the closed session meetings referenced in the Attorney General’s decision, namely the meetings of Oct. 12 and 26, 2021; Nov. 16, 2021; Dec. 14, 2021; Jan. 13 and 25, 2022; Feb. 8 and 22, 2022; March 8 and 22, 2022; April 12 and 26, 2022; May 10 and 25, 2022; June 14 and 28, 2022.	10/11/22
10/04/22	10/12/22	None	Duane McCoskey, MHS Parent	Do you have contact information for Bill Clevenger?	10/04/22
10/04/22	10/12/22	10/19/22	Harley Kohlbrecher, Cavanagh;O’Hara LLP	Contract with the General Contractor for any project(s), name used to identify the Project(s), address and legal description of all project site(s), any contract, or subcontract with New Beginnings and certified payroll submitted by New Beginnings.	10/19/22
10/20/22	10/26/22	None	T. Howley, Community Member	I would like to know who 1st class educators is and what service they are providing at Hope Academy.	10/26/22
10/20/22	10/27/22	None	T. Howley, Community Member	What is 1st class educators contracted to do at Hope Academy, the terms of their contract , length and payment that the board agreed to a few weeks ago.	10/26/22
10/21/22	11/21/22	None	Karen Garcia, SmartProcure	Current employee: First Name, Last Name, Position Title, Department, Direct Phone Number (if does not exist, list main phone number with extension), Business Cell Phone (if provided by Decatur Public Schools), Email Address and Office Address (Address, City, State, Zip)	11/07/22
10/24/22	10/31/22	None	T. Howley, Community Member	Final agreement between Hope Academy and 1st class Educator, the terms and conditions of this contract.	10/26/22
10/24/22	10/31/22	None	T. Howley, Community Member	SDMS tutoring service: terms and conditions of the contracts with DPS.	10/31/22
10/27/22	11/03/22	None	Alyssa Patrick, WAND Reporter	Emails or text messages from Mr. Jeff Dase, Assistant Superintendent of DPS61, that include the name "William Scott Wagner" or "Scott Wagner" from August 1st, 2022 through October 26th, 2022.	11/03/22
10/27/22	11/03/22	None	Alyssa Patrick, WAND Reporter	Information regarding the suspension, without pay, for Mr. William Scott Wagner that was voted on during the September 15th, 2022 Board meeting. The resolution to suspend Mr. Wagner, for two days, was approved by the Board during the 7:30am meeting. I am requesting details surrounding the incident that led to Mr. Wagner's suspension.	11/03/22
11/28/22	12/29/22	None	Sheri Reid, SmartProcure	Purchasing records from 08/09/22 – 11/25/22	12/05/22
12/05/22	12/12/22	None	Jodi Haskins, Tax Payer	Emails by the board and it’s members pertaining to the seat position that became open on 08/23/22, submissions received, the resume and letter of interest, deadline extension, and any email regarding selecting a new member filling the open seat since the new deadline of 08/31 to now and since the beginning of the procedure to fill the now open seat.	12/12/22
12/08/22	12/15/22	None	Leara Evans, Retired Teacher	School Board agendas for 02/2019 – 03/2019, School Board minutes for 02/2019 – 03/2019, ancillary pay schedules that were implemented during the school year 07/2018-05/2019, School Board minutes for 10/23/2018-11/2018, ancillary pay schedules for this school year from 08/2022-12/2022 and the contract that the School Board has with the Interim HR Director Deanne Hillman for 120 days.	12/15/22
12/13/22	12/20/22	None	Frank Patterson, Academy Research Group	Up-to-date list of your current employees, full names, date of birth, age or year of birth, hire date, e-mail address, personal/home phone number(s), address, department/position, and salary, if possible, Purchasing records from 08/09/22 – 11/25/22.	12/16/22
12/28/22	01/05/23	None	Leara Evans, Retired Teacher	Copy of the minutes from the special meeting held this morning at 8:00 am December 27, 2022.	12/29/22

Date Received	Due Date	Extension Due Date	Requestor/ Company	Topic/Summary	Date Responded
07/02/26	08/03/26	None	Colton Pierce, Data Branch	See original request.	07/07/26
07/06/26	08/04/26	None	Garrett Holloway, Data Branch	See original request.	07/07/26
07/08/26	08/06/26	None	Lydia Carmichael, Data Branch	See original request.	07/09/26
07/09/26	08/07/26	None	Parker Townsend, Data Branch	See original request.	07/13/26
07/09/26	08/07/26	None	Heidi Collins, Data Branch	See original request.	07/13/26
07/14/26	08/12/26	None	Dylan Mercer, Data Branch	See original request.	07/16/26
07/17/26	08/13/26	None	Corey Blanc, Data Branch	See original request.	None at this time.
07/17/26	08/13/26	None	Reid Lancaster, Data Branch	See original request.	None at this time.