EduTech 
Regional Steering Committee
August 23, 1999
Marriott Thruway

Members Present:  
Joe Backer, Supt.  Letchworth				Tiffany Phillips, Supt. Bloomfield
Gary Hammond, Asst. Supt.  GV BOCES			Bob Smith, Supt. Elba
Chris Manaseri, Supt. Romulus				Camille Sorenson,  Director of EduTech
Dr. Marinelli, District Supt. W-FL BOCES			Dr. Stephen Uebbing, Supt. Canandaigua
Jack McCabe, Associate Supt. W-FL BOCES		Yvonne Watkins, Supt. Geneseo
Bev Ouderkirk, District Supt. GV BOCES

Jack McCabe welcomed everyone to summer meeting and introduced Bea Parker, a retired educator as facilitator.

Common Expectation:  Communication and Clear Focus

Time Keeper:  Dr. Steve Uebbing

I.	MISSION STATEMENT (ideas and concepts that capture the essence of EduTech)
Ideas suggested included:
•	Provide quality products and service to our customers in a timely manner
•	Provide leadership, direction, and service to our component districts in the field of technology
•	Provide efficient, effective and state of the art educational technology
•	Provide reliable, timely, cost effective technical service and to provide technical leadership in support of education
•	To advance through technical support and leadership the integration of technology into workplace and classroom
•	Maximize efficiency and effectiveness of educational technology for k-12 public schools in our region
•	Provide high quality cutting edge technology applications and support to schools of the region
•	Lead model and train school personnel in the use of appropriate technology
•	Through technology to assist all students in meeting or exceeding high standards
•	Cooperatively provide technological services to member schools

Acceptable:  provide, leadership for regional technology initiatives, cooperative, leadership in response to needs {Responding to the needs of the school districts (strictly responses)}

II.	STEERING COMMITTEE FUNCTIONS AND STRUCTURE
Role of Steering Committee:
Ideas suggested included:
•	Determine the mission of the organization
•	Determine policy, EduTech direction, vision
•	Policy and goal recommending body
•	Communication vehicle
•	Place for point of reflection (ie: reflect upon the success of R&D projects - recording and impact) (assessing past activities, reviewing data as to EduTech's effectiveness)
•	Provide direction & guidance to EduTech from the wishes and desires of component districts
•	Be the customer side of a SDM process for this branch of BOCES
•	Lead the cooperative
•	Be a bridging function to enable regional leadership
•	Conscience of EduTech

Jack asked for agreement or disagreement on items.  Jack suggested
•	EduTech needs to improve SMD process  (steering committee being SDM)
•	Needs communication vehicle
•	Be a bridging function to enable regional leadership

Bob Smith - no direction setting in above statements
Chris Manaseri - all liaison functions
Camille Sorenson -Mission, conscience, communication (steering committee tell  
         me where you want to be and let me get there)
Joe Backer - who leads the cooperative, who is the voice, this is where we want to 
         go and this is what we accept and what we won't

Eight agreed upon roles and the categories they fall under:
•	Lead the Cooperative
•	Provide general direction & guidance to EduTech from wishes and desires of component districts
•	Conscience of EduTech
•	Recommending the mission/vision/policy of organization
•	Be the customer side of a SDM process
•	Be a bridging function to enable regional leadership
•	Communication Vehicle
•	Point of reflection (assessing past activities, reviewing data as to EduTech's effectiveness)

Leadership:
•	Recommend the mission/vision/policy of organization
•	Policy & Goal recommending body
•	Provide general direction & guidance to EduTech from wishes and desires of component districts

Liaison:
•	Communication vehicle
•	Be a bridging function to enable regional leadership
•	Be the customer side of a SDM process
•	Point of reflection (assessing past activities, reviewing data as to EduTech's effectiveness)

Oversight:
•	Conscience of EduTech

Number of Meetings:
Increase number of meetings in the short term whether physical or via teleconferencing.
Meet in school districts and share what host district is doing.
Five physical meetings and then other type of meetings.
Benefit to EduTech to meet more than 4 times.
Suggest monthly meetings for year and then remove if not needed.
Length of meeting
One more full day meeting early in the year.

Agreed upon:
Five 1/2 day meetings
October 1st - full day  Hampton Inn  8:30 
Four more possible meetings
Bring calendars for next meeting  Agenda Item

Representation:
District Superintendent from Genesee Valley and Wayne-Finger Lakes BOCES
Assistant Superintendent fron Genesee Valley and Wayne-Finger Lakes BOCES
Director of EduTech
Three Representative Superintendents each from Genesee Valley and Wayne-Finger Lakes BOCES

Group Norms:
One person speaks at a time
Everyone gets opportunity to speak once before someone speaks a second time
Treat everyone with respect
Consider regional perspective
Honestly deal with facts and feelings
Make every effort to attend Steering Committee meetings
If you cannot attend, call Jack.  No substitutes
Support group decisions.
Try to stay to times/agenda items.
Establish items for next meetings agenda
Materials become available one week  prior to meeting (if possible)

Structure of Meetings
•	Chair/Facilitator 
Select for one year role
•	Postpone until next meeting 
•	Recommend that chairperson be one of the six superintendents with an alternate.

Goals
Moved to next meeting.

III.	COMMUNICATIONS
A.  Update GV BOCES
Bev Ouderkirk updated the committee on a series of continuing meetings with GV BOCES and 
EduTech aimed at open communication and closing the gap.

B.  Committee Member Responsibilities
External Communications
Responsibility	What is needed?	
Participate in presentations upon request		
Answer questions		
Share budget info with other Supts upon request		
Reflect accurate the needs of constituents	Constituents know representatives of steering committee	
Proactively support decisions of Steering committee when necessary		
Reminding Supts of availability of minutes on Docushare	CSO access to minutes	
Use CSO bulletin board to post minutes, upcoming agendas, calendar of mtgs		

Internal Communications
Responsibility	What is needed?	
Agendas and backup material getting out ahead of time.		
Use DocuShare to communicate between meetings (check at least once a week)	Timely postings - Agenda a week ahead and minutes a week after	
Communicate with candor and clarity	Climate and safe atmosphere	
Orientation of new members		
Have at least one steering committee meeting at EduTech - Newark		
Fax reminder until January 1, 2000		

IV.	EDUTECH OPERATIONS
A.	Technical and Application Support Pricing using "per call" - Camille Sorenson/Chris Saxby
Camille Sorenson gave and overview, impact analysis, and pro's and con's of using "per call" billing (refer to handouts)

What if:
•	we chose a different way of buying and installing computers? What would the operation look like
•	we no longer provided hardware and installation?  Who would be responsible for licensing, 
inventory, etc?
•	we have not looked at a substantial change?
•	we did cooperative purchasing with agreed upon software and hardware specifications?

Where is the level of frustration from districts; installation or technical support?

B.  Application Support
Costs are comparable.  Do we change?

Depending on the billing method (time, per call, travel) would need to look at different kinds of support.   Remote access, dial up

Do we know what we want to discuss next?:
•	Being more equitable
•	What do we internally subsidize?
•	Do we truly know what it costs a vendor?  Are their hourly charges accurate?  Are they hiding costs?
•	Colleagues need to understand costs so that they can defend them.  What do the costs represent?  We need to help superintendents understand pricing structure and what it represents.
•	Next step looking at pricing scenario and clearly define scenario and define consequences.
Per device
Per call
Per time
•	Concerns regarding subsidizing installs.  (Self support or possibly not do at all.)

Observations:
•	Changes would need to be phased in.
•	Wild card with legislation changing.

Needs for next meeting:
•	Have Chris Saxby do a live manipulation of numbers.
•	What do we project happening with installs.  Are they going to maintain this level, increase, decrease. Trends in installs.  Projections along districts 5 year plans.
•	Committee members to speak with constituents regarding the fact that we are in a cycle of reexamining the price and billing issues and do they have any particular questions or items to be considered.  
•	Do you want to play out the scenario of EduTech being a pure vendor and the impact?  
•	Need to find a rational way to get the point across without being too detailed with superintendents.
•	Is this decided upon by majority vote or consensus? (agenda item 10/l)
•	Secretary to be present for minute taking.

C.  Research and Development	
Handouts were distributed.

Items of Discussion:
•	Are requests ever denied and if so on what basis?  Yes, and example being software might not meet the standards set.
•	Bob Smith brought up the benefit of a person strictly doing R&D.  Concern was raised regarding this person losing the operational perspective.  Might not necessarily be a bad thing if they lose operational perspective.
•	What is the criteria used to prioritize what gets done?  (agenda item 10/1)
•	Who has access to the forms?  Tech coordinators have the forms.  Will be brought to the attention of new coordinators at next technical coordinator’s meeting.
•	The need to be up to date with basic systems, operating/network systems.
•	Discussed as a possible scenario for cost analysis.  If we increase R&D what will it cost?
•	How do we find out (communication) where we are in the process.
•	Make R&D a regular agenda item.
•	Updating WEB page.  Keep you up-to-date on what EduTech is doing.
•	Need to provide to the districts what is out there.
•	Categorize Needs:  Organization, Department, Individual, Playing

D.  Planning the Budget Cycle
•	Tentative dates on when numbers might be available.
•	See the budget a couple of times before the need to approve.

•	First budget draft available for review approximately 11/12
•	Second draft and district pricing  approximately 12/15  (based on what we know you are going to do by 12/1) Projects planned 12/1 to 6/30 are not reflected in package
•	Individual proposals distributed to districts by 1/30
•	Informational meetings in February.  Suggestion was made that informational meetings be run by Superintendents from committee.

•	Cost of Staff Development (Agenda item 10/l)

E.  SAA Process
Camille reviewed the SAA analysis process completed to date with corresponding handouts.  Steps included: 
•	Identified all the steps and anyone who touches an SAA
•	Took the data we have (not absolute).
•	Worked internally to identify issues in the process, worked with districts to identify issues, held meetings with district representatives.  
•	Strategize what we could do to make things better
•	List of issues raised within Edutech and the districts.  
1.  Communication
2.  Automation and management of process
•	Currently developed an automated SAA process.
•	System has a central pricing database and will eventually be available to districts.  
•	Piloting process internally now.
•	End of the year objective have a couple of districts have access to information so that they can do a status of SAA and access to pricing database.
•	Next year accessible from the districts as well as internally
•	Management reports to allow districts and EduTech to see what is going on.  Order status.
•	Communication
Taking the items dealing with communication and breaking them down and categorizing  internal or external and adjusting procedures accordingly.
•	Small orders will use the same workflow as all orders.  Improving the whole system will improve the small orders.

F.  Partnerships - Jack McCabe
•	Project Accelerate (Title III grant) - will continue this year.  Updated information can be found on the EduTech web site under Project Accelerate.
•	WXXI - partnering with WXXI on the uses of digital television technology.

Next meeting October 1 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. at the Hampton Inn, Route 96, Victor.  
Agenda Items:
•	How are decisions reached (majority/consensus)
•	Set meeting dates
•	Electronic communication
•	Options of how to do purchasing and installation differently  (does state law prohibit this)
•	How do we prioritize R&D requests
•	R&D regular agenda item
•	Cost of Staff Development