It's Time Your Board Got Wired

High-tech school boards deliver efficiency and leadership

By Kathleen Vail

Kathleen Vail is an assistant editor of Electronic School.

When the Dallas school board purchased laptops for its members two years ago, Bill Keever looked forward to using all the technological tools the portable computer offered. Now he could send e-mail to the superintendent and his fellow board members. He could receive the monthly school board packet on disk instead of the usual pounds of paper. He could use on-line services to send and receive messages from parents, constituents, and board members in other school districts. He could write and send his own memos instead of asking the board secretary.

Unfortunately, Keever was the only board member eager to put the new technology to work. The Dallas board embraced the concept of using these technological tools, but some board members froze when confronted with the actual hardware. Although the school district offered training on the new machines, the other board members didn't use the laptops. "The resistance was too much to overcome," says Keever. "They were intimidated. One board member wouldn't even open it up." Keever ended up turning in the laptop to the district and purchasing his own, which he uses for both board business and his regular job. The other unused laptops were lent out to school district staff.

As with any other group of people, some school board members are more enthusiastic than others about using high-tech tools and more convinced of their advantages. But board members and superintendents who want to propel their boards into cyberspace could face resistance from another source as well as from technology-shy board members. The community might be reluctant to support buying technology for the board, arguing that any and all technology purchased by the schools should be used only by those closest to the classroom.

Proponents of e-mail, voice mail, on-line services, laptops, cellular phones, and fax machines say these technologies can make board members better informed and more accessible. What's more, they say, these tools can save money and time for the school district, an important consideration in countering resistance.

School boards these days are called upon to make many decisions about purchasing computer hardware and software for their schools. If the school board members themselves use technology, they have more credibility when they tell students that they, too, will need these skills. "When a board is part of a technology system, it's a message that reverberates in the community," says Seminole County, Fla., Superintendent Paul Hagerty. "If the leadership of the district isn't embracing it, that sends a message of, 'Do as I say, not as I do.'"

If you're a school board member who wants to send e-mail or tap into the World Wide Web, or if you're a superintendent who would like to put the monthly board packet on a disk to save paper and mailing costs, you are not alone. Many of your colleagues are making cases to their communities on the value of technology to school boards.

E-mail express

When Seminole Superintendent Hagerty wants to remind his board's five members about a meeting change, he doesn't have to track them down individually. Instead, he sends them an e-mail message, which they read on laptops on loan from the district. He also sends his weekly updates on school news through e-mail, including any important memos or letters he's received that week. Being electronically connected to his board members is an efficient and convenient way to communicate, Hagerty says.

"I know how unhappy board members are when they read an item in the newspaper before they hear it," says Hagerty. "I need quicker access than a letter."

Sandy Robinson, who chairs the Seminole school board, says she sends e-mail to her fellow board members, and they also send messages to teachers and administrators in the 54,000-student system. "It helps us with communication," she says.

In fact, e-mail is one of the main conveniences that spur many school board members to learn about new technology. A school board member with an e-mail address on a districtwide system can send and receive messages from board members, the superintendent, the administrative staff, teachers, and even students. The board secretary can send messages about special or canceled meetings without having to play telephone tag with each member. And board members with e-mail addresses on the Internet also can send and receive messages to and from board members, teachers, and staff members in other school districts, as well as to from the parents and their constituents in the community.

Howard Kramer, member of the East Lebanon, Pa., school board, uses his own laptop to send messages to the school staff and to the superintendent. He's working on a project with the district's middle school librarian--she sends him e-mail when she has a question. "Otherwise she'd have to look all over for me," says Kramer.

Get on-line

On-line services and the Internet offer other resources besides e-mail. Steve Galaydick, a member of the Hernando County, Fla., school board, says he saved his district $400,000 using the Florida education on-line service, where he discovered a list of available state grants. One, he realized, would aid Hernando's at-risk program; the district applied for and received the grant.

Dallas' Keever used the Internet to look up information about charter schools and was able to ask other school districts directly about curriculum and other issues. Calobe Jackson, a school board member in Harrisburg, Pa., says he browses through the state department of education on-line service, (login: TX) which lists achievement test scores of Pennsylvania schools. "On-line you can search for information that goes beyond the superintendent and the top administrators," says Jackson.

The Texas Department of Education offers an on-line service for educators that gives them Internet access and e-mail addresses for $5 a year. The Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) offers training to school board members on how to use the service, says Karen Strong, communications director. The association also offers on-line information about state education legislation and meetings and training sessions.

"In the next five years, it will be increasingly important for school board members to be knowledgeable about technology and the Internet," says Strong. "It's easier to be connected. The more information board members have, the better job they do."

The paperless world

School board service is paper-intensive, entailing reams of memos, news clippings, agendas, minutes. Usually, a board secretary or another staff person compiles these papers, copies them, and mails them out to the members. But some boards get this information on a disk or through e-mail, saving money on copying, paper, postage, and staff time. When the Harrisburg board received a 250-page revision of the district's math and science curriculum, for example, Jackson asked the curriculum director to give him a copy on disk. He also uses a spreadsheet on the laptop during budget time to make calculations. And in Seminole County, school board members have the district's policy manual on their laptops.

Some school boards have found other technology useful in their jobs, too, including the following:

Voice mail. Many school boards--including those in Dallas and Seminole County--have a voice mail system in their board offices, which frees board members from taking calls at home or where they work. They can receive messages from the superintendent, staff, constituents, and the news media. Voice mail can be used in other ways, too. The Pasco County, Fla., board asked residents last September to call the board's voice mail system with questions about a sales tax referendum that would raise money to build and renovate schools, according to the St. Petersburg Times.

Cellular phones. School employees and board members in Annapolis, Md., are given car or portable phones to use. The phones allow the members to contact one another or the schools in case of an emergency, according to the Annapolis Capital.

Fax machines. The Durham County, N.C., schools installed fax machines in the homes of its board members to increase communication among the members.

Making the case

Technology is expensive, and many districts that have to struggle to get computers for students can't yet consider purchasing them for board members. But even districts that can afford the purchase sometimes hesitate, fearing public controversy. Hernando County's Galaydick purchased his laptop with discretionary money set aside for travel, office supplies, and other items. When people protested, he says, he was able to answer that the laptop saved money for the district. But more important, he says, "We need to be well-informed to make decisions."

It's easier to make the case, of course, if your board makes sure schools' technology needs are taken care of first. East Lebanon's Kramer says the board planned to purchase laptops for its members but backed off last year when it decided that more teachers needed them. "We are low-man on the totem pole for getting this," says Kramer. "There's no way I would consider putting technology in the hands of board members when our kids are suffering for lack of it." For now, Kramer uses his own laptop for board business.

Seminole's Robinson stresses to her constituents that the board's laptops are on loan and must be given back when the board member leaves office. They also can be used by other members of the staff if the need arises, she says. When some people in the county protested the purchase, Robinson answered: "We need a better understanding of technology. All school personnel should understand and use technology, including us."