The district's cybersecurity coordinator told the board on Oct. 14 that staff training-completion rates rose to 87% after the district returned to a biannual training model.

The coordinator said the district had previously tried shorter monthly modules and found lower participation because some employees mistook training emails for phishing attempts. After polling staff, the district returned to the prior biannual approach and saw completion improve from about 60% to 87%, which the presenter said places the district in a five-star rating for that cybersecurity performance indicator.

The coordinator urged continued diligence, noting that technology systems can be strong but people are often the weakest link in security. "The people are always the the weakest link in any security plan," he said, and thanked staff and board members who check in on cybersecurity work.

Why it matters: Higher training-completion rates reduce risk from phishing and other attacks and can lower the chance of a cybersecurity incident that would disrupt district operations. No formal board action was required; the report was informational.