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Schools

District To Utilize Listserv for Non-Emergency Communications

Doug Orr, the district's supervisor of technology, said the move is being made to save the district time and "tremendous amounts of money" over time.

The Board of Education announced it will utilize a new email system to handle non-emergency communications between the schools and parents.  

Doug Orr, the district's supervisor of technology, said the move is being made to save the district time and "tremendous amounts of money" over time.

The program is called Listserv, an electronic mailing list that will 
send messages to parents throughout the district to keep them informed 
about school system matters. 

"The goal is to move to electronic communications for matters that are 
appropriate [to get the news out] as quickly as possible," board member 
Celia Colbert explained, underscoring the notion of appropriateness. "We 
must be disciplined about it."

Colbert said that non-wired families and those without access to 
broadband are being considered during the change, noting that hard 
copies of communications will be mailed to these families.

"Electronic communications is the way in which the world is going," she 
said, "but there must be a sense of equity."

Parker agreed that sensitivity was required and added 
that a search is on to find private sector companies–he mentioned 
Comcast and Verizon as possibilities–that might be willing to pick up 
the cost to help provide broadband to technologically disadvantaged families.

Colbert added that some parts of the district's communications strategy 
will not change: Items such as report cards and progress reports will 
continue to be distributed via traditional mail, and the Code Red system 
for emergency communications, which employs email and cell phone text 
messages, will remain in place.

Families on local PTO and PTA email lists will be automatically subscribed to the district list and a subscribe link will be included on the district's website. Each communication will include an unsubscribe link for those who decide they would rather not be on the list.

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Doug Orr said that the finished Listserv system should be in place 
within the next two months.

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