MONTVILLE TWP. – The K-12 school district is making great strides to save a few trees.
The Board of Education is now using Cloud-based technology to “radically improve the governance process while saving staff time and taxpayer dollars,” according to a release issued by the district.
“The remarkably easy-to-use service will allow the organization to maximize the effectiveness of their board meetings with increased transparency, providing a basis for better and more open communication with the public, while dramatically improving productivity and saving thousands of dollars annually,” the release states.
Earlier this year, the Board of Education voted unanimously to phase out paper documentation in favor of the board management solution called “BoardDocsPro.”
On March 7, all members of the Board of Education, as well as the superintendent, assistant superintendents and business administration staff, began training on the new document management system. In only a few weeks, board meetings have shifted to a nearly paperless format, the release says.
“I am trying to work exclusively off the BoardDocs agenda this evening,” said Board of Education President Matthew Kayne at the April 18 meeting.
“Tonight, I am not looking at a paper agenda, but rather BoardDocs, as we work to complete our transition to a paperless system.”
According to press materials provided by Emerald Data Solutions, Inc., the company which developed and markets BoardDocs Pro, “the service is the fastest, easiest and most powerful paperless agenda solution on the market.
“Leveraging state-of-the-art technology, BoardDocs Pro does things no other board management solution can, for a price no other solution can match. BoardDocs Pro adds the most powerful board management tools ever created, including Comprehensive Meeting Management, Policy Management and a Multi-purpose Library, plus powerful and intuitive Workflow.”
BoardDocs Pro uses a structured, collaborative Workflow that is specifically designed to meet the unique needs and legal requirements of public school boards, county commissions, municipal governments and a wide variety of other types of governing bodies, according to the release.
Additionally, through the MetaSearch feature, members of the governing body will also have access to best practices from other organizations that are using the system, allowing them to gain important knowledge about initiatives other governing bodies have considered and implemented.
Electronic distribution will not only save time and resources, but it will also provide unprecedented public access to agenda items and other board-related information via the Montville Township Public Schools’ Web site, www.montville.net. This process will allow interested parties to review information prior to meetings, the release states.
After the meeting, individuals can review the agenda items and see what action the board took, complete with voting results. All documents associated with the meeting are automatically archived and can be accessed by date or by using the system’s comprehensive Search feature.
The new board management features can be accessed via the Montville Township Public Schools’ Web site at www.montville.net. BoardDocs Pro information is available under the Board of Education/ Meeting Schedule, Minutes and Agendas tabs. For questions regarding the governance initiative, contact diane.maggiore@montville.net .
For more information about BoardDocs Pro, call (800) 407-0141 or visit www.boarddocs.com to experience the premier board management solution firsthand.