Lake County Gazette

As Cybersecurity Awareness Month concludes, school districts are emphasizing the importance of protecting critical information systems to ensure uninterrupted education. Brady Mills, Chief Technology Officer for Westminster Public Schools, highlighted the risks that cyber threats pose to school operations.

“A single breach can shut down essential systems, halt instruction, and disrupt the vital services families rely on every day,” Mills said. “It’s about safeguarding our ability to educate our students.”

Mills noted that while many employees are aware of financial fraud risks in their personal lives, they may not consider how such threats could impact a school district. The district distributes regular training modules for staff, but not all employees complete them. Mills stressed the consequences: “A cyber incident in a school doesn’t just affect screens, it can close classrooms, delay payroll, interrupt nutrition services, and even stop buses. These training modules provide much needed protection to keep our district running.”

He urged everyone to take cybersecurity training seriously.

Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 serves several schools across Lake County, including Andrew Cooke Magnet Elementary School and Waukegan High School. More information about the schools represented in this district is available at https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/.

The district has a diverse student population with 3.2 percent White students, 13.2 percent Black students, 79.5 percent Hispanic students, and 1.3 percent Asian students according to data from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). Further demographic details can be found at https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/.

There are 1,014 teachers in Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 earning an average salary of $63,524 before pension contributions; women make up 71.1 percent of the teaching staff while men comprise 28.9 percent. The ISBE also reports that no teachers in the district have more than ten absences per year (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).

In terms of spending, Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 allocated $23,429 per student in 2020 for a total expenditure of $359 million (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).