Bartelso SD #57 FOIA Information
Bartelso Elementary School District #57 maintains this FOIA Information page in compliance with the requirements of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140).
Description of Entity
Bartelso Elementary School District #57 is a public elementary school district serving students in Kindergarten through Grade 8 in Bartelso, Illinois.
Records Immediately Available Upon Request
The following documents or categories of records are immediately available:
Federal and State Grant Awards
Annual Financial Report
Annual Budget
Annual Audit
Contracts
Health Life Safety Amendments
Health Life Safety Annual Inspection Reports
Health Life Safety Building and Occupancy Permits
Policy Manual(s)
Handbooks
Records maintained by the District include, but are not limited to: board records, personnel records, student records (subject to FERPA restrictions), financial records, contracts, bids, grant records, transportation records, facility records, health/life safety records, curriculum records, and correspondence maintained in the ordinary course of business.
FOIA Officer
A FOIA Officer is a person appointed by a public body. The FOIA officer’s responsibility is to receive FOIA requests from the public and to send responses in compliance with FOIA. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requires that all public bodies designate one or more officials or employees to act as a Freedom of Information Act Officer (FOIA Officer). These FOIA Officers (or their designees) shall receive requests for records, ensure that the public body responds to the requests in a timely fashion, and issue responses under FOIA. (5 ILCS 140/3.5(a))
Bartelso SD #57 FOIA Officer Tom Siegler, District Superintendent, serves as the FOIA Officer for the Bartelso SD #57. All FOIA requests should be made to Tom Siegler.
How to Submit a Request
The Office of the Attorney General recommends the following procedure:
If you would like to obtain information from a public body, you should begin by writing down a list of the information you are seeking. Then prepare a letter to that public body’s office. If you are not sure to whom to address the letter, contact the public body’s main office and request the contact information for the FOIA officer.
Your letter should include your name, your address, the date, and a daytime phone number so that the public body can contact you if they have any questions. Describe the information you are seeking with sufficient detail so that the public body can find the requested records. Providing as much information as possible in your request on the subject matter may expedite the public body’s search process.
You do not need to describe the document specifically and accurately by the same name the public body uses. As long as the public body understands what is being requested, they must release that information, even if the requester does not call it by the same name the public body uses.
Public bodies cannot require that the public submit FOIA requests on a specific form or in a specific format. Public bodies, however, can require that FOIA requests be submitted in writing. Public bodies must accept requests by mail, personal delivery, fax, e-mail, or other means available to the public body. Public bodies may accept oral FOIA requests but are not required to do so.
Additionally, each public body must develop and make available upon request a list of documents that the public body will immediately provide to a requester. Each public body also must maintain a reasonably current list of all types or categories of records under its control, and the list should be reasonably detailed in order to aid persons in obtaining access to public records. This list must be available for inspection and copying.
The following are instructions on how to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with Bartelso SD #57:
Please make your request for records in writing. Bartelso SD #57 does not require the completion of a standard form for this purpose. You may submit your written request by mail or e-mail. Please direct your request to:
Tom Siegler
District Superintendent/FOIA Officer
Bartelso SD #57
306 South Washington Street
PO Box 267
Bartelso, IL 62218
[email protected]
Please be as specific as possible when describing the records you are seeking. Remember, the Freedom of Information Act is designed to allow you to inspect or receive copies of records. It is not designed to require a public body to answer questions. To the extent that you wish to ask questions of a representative of the District, you may call our office at (618) 765-2164.
Please tell us whether you would like copies of the requested records, or whether you wish to examine the records in person. You have the right to either option.
There is no fee for up to 50 pages of standard paper copies. For pages beyond 50, there is a 15-cent-per-page charge.
You are permitted to ask for a waiver of copying fees. To do so, please include the following statement (or a similar statement) in your written FOIA request: "I request a waiver of all fees associated with this request." In addition, you must include a specific explanation as to why your request for information is in the public interest - not simply your personal interest - and merits a fee waiver.
Please include your name, preferred telephone number(s), mailing address, and, if you wish, your electronic mail address.
For standard forms and letters, please visit the website of the Office of the Attorney General Kwame Raoul.
FOIA Contact
Public Access Counselor
Office of the Attorney General
500 South 2nd Street
Springfield, IL 62701
Phone: 1-877-299-FOIA (1-877-299-3642)
FAX: 217-782-1396
This public access portal is provided in compliance with statutory requirements set forth in 5 ILCS 140.
Description of Entity
Bartelso Elementary School District #57 is a public elementary school district serving students in Kindergarten through Grade 8 in Bartelso, Illinois.
Records Immediately Available Upon Request
The following documents or categories of records are immediately available:
Federal and State Grant Awards
Annual Financial Report
Annual Budget
Annual Audit
Contracts
Health Life Safety Amendments
Health Life Safety Annual Inspection Reports
Health Life Safety Building and Occupancy Permits
Policy Manual(s)
Handbooks
Records maintained by the District include, but are not limited to: board records, personnel records, student records (subject to FERPA restrictions), financial records, contracts, bids, grant records, transportation records, facility records, health/life safety records, curriculum records, and correspondence maintained in the ordinary course of business.
FOIA Officer
A FOIA Officer is a person appointed by a public body. The FOIA officer’s responsibility is to receive FOIA requests from the public and to send responses in compliance with FOIA. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requires that all public bodies designate one or more officials or employees to act as a Freedom of Information Act Officer (FOIA Officer). These FOIA Officers (or their designees) shall receive requests for records, ensure that the public body responds to the requests in a timely fashion, and issue responses under FOIA. (5 ILCS 140/3.5(a))
Bartelso SD #57 FOIA Officer Tom Siegler, District Superintendent, serves as the FOIA Officer for the Bartelso SD #57. All FOIA requests should be made to Tom Siegler.
How to Submit a Request
The Office of the Attorney General recommends the following procedure:
If you would like to obtain information from a public body, you should begin by writing down a list of the information you are seeking. Then prepare a letter to that public body’s office. If you are not sure to whom to address the letter, contact the public body’s main office and request the contact information for the FOIA officer.
Your letter should include your name, your address, the date, and a daytime phone number so that the public body can contact you if they have any questions. Describe the information you are seeking with sufficient detail so that the public body can find the requested records. Providing as much information as possible in your request on the subject matter may expedite the public body’s search process.
You do not need to describe the document specifically and accurately by the same name the public body uses. As long as the public body understands what is being requested, they must release that information, even if the requester does not call it by the same name the public body uses.
Public bodies cannot require that the public submit FOIA requests on a specific form or in a specific format. Public bodies, however, can require that FOIA requests be submitted in writing. Public bodies must accept requests by mail, personal delivery, fax, e-mail, or other means available to the public body. Public bodies may accept oral FOIA requests but are not required to do so.
Additionally, each public body must develop and make available upon request a list of documents that the public body will immediately provide to a requester. Each public body also must maintain a reasonably current list of all types or categories of records under its control, and the list should be reasonably detailed in order to aid persons in obtaining access to public records. This list must be available for inspection and copying.
The following are instructions on how to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with Bartelso SD #57:
Please make your request for records in writing. Bartelso SD #57 does not require the completion of a standard form for this purpose. You may submit your written request by mail or e-mail. Please direct your request to:
Tom Siegler
District Superintendent/FOIA Officer
Bartelso SD #57
306 South Washington Street
PO Box 267
Bartelso, IL 62218
[email protected]
Please be as specific as possible when describing the records you are seeking. Remember, the Freedom of Information Act is designed to allow you to inspect or receive copies of records. It is not designed to require a public body to answer questions. To the extent that you wish to ask questions of a representative of the District, you may call our office at (618) 765-2164.
Please tell us whether you would like copies of the requested records, or whether you wish to examine the records in person. You have the right to either option.
There is no fee for up to 50 pages of standard paper copies. For pages beyond 50, there is a 15-cent-per-page charge.
You are permitted to ask for a waiver of copying fees. To do so, please include the following statement (or a similar statement) in your written FOIA request: "I request a waiver of all fees associated with this request." In addition, you must include a specific explanation as to why your request for information is in the public interest - not simply your personal interest - and merits a fee waiver.
Please include your name, preferred telephone number(s), mailing address, and, if you wish, your electronic mail address.
For standard forms and letters, please visit the website of the Office of the Attorney General Kwame Raoul.
FOIA Contact
Public Access Counselor
Office of the Attorney General
500 South 2nd Street
Springfield, IL 62701
Phone: 1-877-299-FOIA (1-877-299-3642)
FAX: 217-782-1396
This public access portal is provided in compliance with statutory requirements set forth in 5 ILCS 140.