Records Storage and Management Poses Problems for School Districts - Guardian Record Systems Can Help

by Robert J. Rua

The amount of records school districts accumulate can be staggering. Student records alone represent massive amounts of documentation that must be maintained for periods that are often longer than the average human lifespan. Each year's influx of new students necessitates the creation of new files, and before long the amount of documentation can begin to choke storage areas and create potential fire hazards by blocking strategic exits or hallways. And these mountains of paper are not comprised of student files alone. Everything from a school district's blueprints, to its employee records, to its financial documents must be retained from as little as 25 years to . . . basically, forever. To make matters worse, many of these documents must be kept readily available to the public; that is readily accessible and retrievable should they need to be referenced. Without thorough and accurate cataloging, finding records in these conditions becomes a frustrating, labyrinthine chore. Even with solid cataloging methods, large scale, long term records retention still poses major difficulties.

School districts, of course, are required by law to do what is necessary to maintain and protect their massive volumes of documentation. The labor involved in accomplishing this is nearly as enormous as the mountains of documents themselves. The state of Ohio , for instance, requires each school district to appoint a records commission to regulate the retention and destruction of its student, faculty and various other records. These commissions are charged with the responsibility of making sure years and years worth of documentation is properly maintained, protected and organized in such a way that any one document among the thousands upon thousands in their care can be made available for inspection or reference within a reasonable amount of time.

Confronted with this monumental task, many Ohio school district records commissions have turned to the professional records retention and management services provided by Guardian Record Systems (GRS) to solve their documentation woes. GRS is a full service records management company that specializes in K-12 school district records. Its headquarters is based in Cleveland , Ohio . President and CEO Joseph A. Marotta began the operation in 1987 with the help of his friend and employee George Smart, a Colorado native who had experience writing computer security codes. Marotta cut his teeth, so to speak, in the records storage business working with bank records, but he eventually extended his operation to include school records after recognizing the tremendous documentation needs of area school districts. Currently, school districts comprise the bulk of his clientele.

Approximately 300 Ohio schools rely on GRS to handle every aspect of their records management needs. In this regard, GRS is a bit of an anomaly. Relatively few records management companies concentrate on servicing school districts. GRS is also unique in that it is, to date, Northeast Ohio 's only full service records retention company. Its comprehensive list of services includes transportation, cataloging, traditional document storage, digital document storage and retrieval and certified destruction. By “keeping everything under one roof,” as Marotta puts it, GRS is able to provide the highest level of convenience and security to its clients.

GUARDIAN RECORD SYSTEMS

Marotta explained that the success of GRS revolves around the company's commitment to professionalism and fairness. “We sell two things,” he said, “service and integrity.” School districts that use GRS to handle their documentation needs enjoy a myriad of convenient services at a reasonable cost. They also enjoy the pleasure of knowing that their records are well-secured against theft and tampering.

Marotta explained that GRS puts information security at a premium. The company operates as a subsidiary of Interstate Agency, Inc., a licensed, bonded and insured protective services company founded in 1976. GRS is also licensed through the Ohio Department of Public Safety Division of Homeland Security. Prior to forming GRS, Joseph Marotta operated a high level security transfers company that served many Northeast Ohio banks. He has been protecting sensitive documentation for a long time, and his commitment to maintaining the confidentiality and security of information is undeniable. Marotta understands that in his business integrity means everything.

RECORDS RETENTION AND STORAGE

GRS is in the business of building long term relationships with its school district clients. Before beginning any new relationship, the GRS team conducts an on-site survey to determine their client's needs. The survey allows the team to calculate the cost of the full operation from records transport to digital document storage and retrieval. By using GRS to store and maintain their records, school districts can reduce their expenses and convert their storage space for more productive uses. The cost of hiring employees to manage school district records is often higher than using GRS services and it is simply impossible for school districts to match the level of security GRS can provide.

A variety of security systems are employed to ensure the safety of all of the documents stored at GRS's secure 125,000 square foot repository. The process of securing these documents begins with the re-boxing of all incoming records into completely identical white boxes. Racks of these boxes soar 35 feet into the air of the spacious facility. None of them feature any detail to distinguish one from the other. Bar codes printed on the boxes contain tracking, activity status, location and content details.

When called upon, GRS staff members are able to find specific records by accessing this coded information within their secure database. Once the location of a record is found in the database, order pickers can retrieve the box for a client. Hydraulic lifts are used to access the upper rack sections. The traditional storage space at the GRS repository holds 100,000 or more boxes at any given time, each one like the last. This uniformity is a major deterrent to those looking to steal or tamper with a specific document or set of records. It is simply impossible to determine the contents of a box from its outside appearance.

After the GRS team re-boxes received documents, the records are prepped by professional documentation technicians and then scanned for digital archiving. Techs have the capability to transform paper source documents, microfilm documents (16-35mm), microfiche and blueprints into digital images. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) conversions are also performed on-site. GRS techs can transform paper, film and image files into machine-readable text.

Once scanned and converted, each document is then indexed using the GRS Computerized Document Management Information System (CDMIS). The original CDMIS software was written by Marotta and Smart in the 1980's and has gone through several evolutions as necessitated by advances in prevailing technology. CDMIS is updated constantly to ensure the integrity of its security. GRS owns the proprietary rights to the CDMIS and does not sell the software to anyone. Instead, clients are allowed access to the CDMIS database as part of their contractual agreement. This arrangement lends GRS clients the convenience of not having to purchase proprietary hardware or software and relieves them of the headaches of having to download periodic updates or security patches. The GRS team of network engineers maintains the system diligently so their clients don't have to.

In addition, CDMIS boasts a user-friendly interface that works with all the most common internet browsers. Clients don't have to worry about learning complex new software because CDMIS is geared toward convenience and familiarity. Essentially, CDMIS is a Client/Server based data archive; a secure online repository of records that can be accessed quickly and easily. Using multi-level firewall and password protocols, network engineers ensure GRS clients have secure internet access to their stored records anywhere in the world. Redundant servers are used to back up the CDMIS database in the event of a catastrophic event. Tape back-up is used for additional security. Archived data is never purged from the CDMIS system so it remains permanently accessible. The client's records can also be copied to CD-ROM if desired. One high-density CD can hold the contents of twenty or more filing cabinets.

POINT-TO-POINT TRANSPORTATION

Some records storage companies use third party transportation to move sensitive records. This can result in longer lead times and logistical obstacles. GRS, however, offers point-to-point pick-up and delivery services in-house, so their clients enjoy faster pick up, delivery and more reliable security.

C ouriers are available to move small quantities (one to ten records/boxes), vans for mid-sized loads (up to 100 records/boxes), and large freight trucks for even bigger loads. When records are requested by a client, they can either be delivered by these point-to-point services or by other methods depending on preference. Records can also be transmitted via email, fax or even US mail.

CERTIFIED RECORD DESTRUCTION

When records become obsolete, GRS takes great care to ensure they are destroyed thoroughly, professionally and securely. When dealing with Ohio school district records, the onus is on the office of the state auditor and Ohio Historical Society (OHS) to determine expiration dates. These organizations determine the length of record retention and must officially approve the destruction of any record before it goes to the shredder. The OHS reviews school district documents looking for those that may hold some historical value, such as building blue prints and articles that chronicle changes in the Ohio education system. When such a record is found, it is set aside and maintained for perpetuity.

Less historically valuable records are destroyed upon school district approval. Paper, disc and film records are shredded professionally by outside contractors. The doomed records are transported point-to-point from the GRS repository to a professional shredding company. GRS company representatives oversee the entire destruction operation from start to finish in order to ensure that the records are sufficiently destroyed. Once destruction is complete, GRS issues the client a Certificate of Destruction documenting the successful transaction.

GRS destroys roughly 8% of the records stored at the repository each year. Records destruction is conducted biannually. Expiration dates are tracked by computer as part of the CDMIS database.

MAKING THE SWITCH TO GUARDIAN RECORDS SYSTEMS

Over the course of the last twenty years, Ohio school districts have found that using GRS to manage their records is much more convenient, secure and cost effective than doing the work themselves. In August of 2006, an article in The Independent (IndeOnline.com) confirmed that GRS was able to make a positive impact on the Massillon , Ohio school district.

The district had been suffering from a tremendous backlog of documentation. Boxed records were piled up in basements, boiler rooms, closets and virtually any other available space. And the situation kept getting worse as storage space gradually dwindled away. Because the records were scattered throughout the district, their confidentiality and security were also being compromised. The Massillon school district's records commission knew it had to do something.

By bringing in GRS, Massillon was able to recover a considerable amount of space and solve their records management woes in one fell swoop. GRS hauled three huge freight loads of records out of the district, converted them to digital files and indexed them for faster, easier access. Now, the company makes quarterly visits to keep the Massillon school district's system running smoothly. Making the switch to GRS has saved the Massillon school district considerable expense as well.

In the future, such arrangements between school districts and records management companies are likely to become more commonplace. GRS has set a very high standard.