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SO CALL THIS MEETING OF THE BEAUTIFUL COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE TO ORDER MEETING IS BEING LIVE-STREAMED BY COUNTY CHANNEL AND CONDUCTED BY REMOTE CONFERENCING.
OUR FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS IS THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
IF WE COULD ALL STAND FOR THAT, PLEASE PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
NEXT DOOR BUSINESS IS APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA, AND THEN WE APPROVE THE AGENDA.
ANY DISCUSSION, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR.
DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS? NO, SIR.
I WOULD BE SURPRISED IF WE DID THIS.
THIS IS OUR INAUGURAL MEETING.
SO I THINK WE NEED TO GET DONE TODAY.
IT'S JUST DEFINED THE SCOPE OF THE COMMITTEE.
WHAT IS, WHAT EXACTLY IS OUR MISSION? WHERE IS THE FENCE? UM, AND W WHAT IS OUR PRODUCT BASICALLY ENOUGH? I'M GONNA JUST GO AROUND THE HORN BECAUSE I THINK BOTH INGRID AND DICK HAVE, HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT THIS AND HAVE BETTER IDEAS THAN I DO.
UM, YEAH, SO I THINK THAT WE, THE TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE SHOULD SERVE AS I'M GETTING FEEDBACK.
ARE YOU GUYS HEARING THAT OR IS IT ME? OKAY.
UM, AS SORT OF A STRATEGY, UH, YOU KNOW, COMING UP WITH A STRATEGIC PLAN FOR TECHNOLOGY, UM, TO LOOK AT THE VALUE OF TECHNOLOGY, I THINK WE NEED, UH, ALSO THEN TO LOOK AT KEY RESULTS AND INITIATIVES AND OUTCOMES OF, UM, TECHNOLOGY PURCHASES AND TECHNOLOGY DECISIONS.
AND I THINK WE NEED, UM, A BETTER STAKEHOLDER PROCESS.
SO STUDENTS, FAMILIES, TEACHERS, SCHOOL, ADMINISTRATORS, THAT THEY ALL ARE, HAVE SOME WHERE AT LEAST ACCOUNTING FOR THEM IN THE TECHNOLOGY PLAN.
UM, SO THE BIGGEST THING FOR ME WITH T WELL, TWO THINGS IS THE USER END OF TECHNOLOGY, THE UX AND THE UI, UM, OF OUR DIFFERENT PROGRAMS. AND THEN WHAT SORT OF FEEDBACK LOOP DO WE HAVE WHEN WE IMPLEMENT TECHNOLOGY? YOU KNOW, WHAT WAS THE GOAL OF THE TECHNOLOGY? AND THEN WHAT DID WE ACHIEVE THAT GOAL? SO AS SOMEONE CHECKING TO MAKE SURE THAT IF WE ADDED SERVICES TO IMPROVE SPEED IN THE CLASSROOM, IS SOMEONE CHECKING TO MAKE SURE THAT THE SPEED ACTUALLY IS IMPROVING, ET CETERA, YOU KNOW, CERTAIN, UM, METRICS MET.
SO IT'S SORT OF A POLICY, UH, BASED INSTRUMENT TO REVIEW TECHNOLOGY VALUE.
THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN, UH, I REALLY STARTED LOOKING AT ONE 17 AND ONE 17 IS TITLED ADMINISTRATIVE TECHNOLOGY, AND IT HAS A BUNCH OF THINGS FOR THE SUPERINTENDENT SHALL, AND THE SUPERINTENDENT SHALL NOT, UH, HIS INTERPRETATIONS, UH, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY SUPPORT, CORE TECHNOLOGY TO ASSESS THE INTERNET AND APPLICATIONS WITH CONTROLS, ADDRESSING SECURITY, PHYSICAL, AND DATA PRIVACY AND COMPLIANCE IN ORDER TO PREVENT INTERPRETATION INTERRUPTIONS WITH STUDENT LEARNING AND OR DISTRICT OPERATIONS.
NOW THAT IS BOILED DOWN INTO A NUMBER OF THINGS.
UH, IT'S GOT A REVIEW TECHNOLOGY PLANS, POLICIES AND KEY TECH, KEY TECHNOLOGY STRATEGIES, UM, COMPLIANCE, MONITORING INDICATIONS THAT, UH, THIS COMMITTEE SHOULD BE HAD FIGURING OUT HOW OFTEN WHEN AND WHERE AND WHAT KIND OF DATA, BUT BASICALLY INTERNET BANDWIDTH USAGE, WIRELESS USAGE, DATA CENTER, DOWNTIME DAYS EXCEEDING 75% NETWORK CAPACITY AND NETWORK WIDE AREA NETWORK, NETWORK, WIDE AREA NETWORK, LAN AVAILABILITY, MONITOR EQUITY, AND ALL HAVE TECHNOLOGY.
AND ALL SCHOOLS SHOULD BE SOME KIND OF A MEASUREMENT.
THEY'VE GOT IT LISTED AS MONITORING INDICATORS THAT WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT AS A COMMITTEE, A NETWORK SECURITY MONITOR AUTHORIZED
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AND UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS OVER THE DISTRICT'S COMPUTER NETWORKS TO OUR SUBMISSION OF INAPPROPRIATE MATERIAL VIA THE INTERNET ELECTRONIC MAIL AND OTHER FORMS OF DIRECT ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS, UH, MONITORING FOR COMPLIANCE.AND YES, THIS ONE, I JUST RE I MENTIONED, THIS IS EVIDENCE THAT WE HAVE EMPLOYED FIREWALLS, BLACK UP SYSTEMS, VIRUS, PROTECTION, ENCRYPTION, AND OTHER GENERALLY ACCEPTED BEST PRACTICES AND EVIDENCE THAT SECURITY PROCEDURES HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED BASED ON EMPLOYEE'S ROLE AND LOCATION.
INSURED DISTRICT HAS APPROPRIATE DISASTER RECOVERY AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLAN.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THIS COMMITTEE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT, AND THE INDICATORS ARE EVIDENCE OF ANNUAL EXPENDITURES FOR CLOUD SERVICES, EVIDENCE OF ANNUAL EXPENDITURES FOR DATA INTERPRETATION SERVICES AND EVIDENCE OF UPDATED DATA RECOVERY AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLAN.
AS YOU ALL KNOW, CYBERSECURITY HAS BEEN KEY MALWARE AND RANSOMWARE HAVE BROUGHT A NUMBER OF GOVERNMENTAL AND PRIVATE INSTITUTION TO THEIR KNEES.
AND, UH, WE NEED TO KNOW WHAT OUR RECOVERY PROCESS IS IN DETAIL, UH, MONITOR PHYSICAL SECURITY MEASURES ENSURE CONTINUED ENGAGEMENT WITH TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS FOR BANDWIDTH EXPANSION.
SO THESE ARE ALL, AND, UH, ALWAYS 17 WAS ONE OTHER ONE ON ALLOW TECHNOLOGY EQUIPMENT TO BE SUBJECT TO IMPROPER USE OR INSUFFICIENT MAINTENANCE, UH, EVIDENCE OF SIGNED ACCEPTANCE, USE POLICY, EVIDENCE OF INVENTORY RECORD AND ANNUAL INSPECTIONS, EVIDENCE OF WEB HELP, DESK TICKETS, REPORTING DAMAGES, EVIDENCE OF REGULAR SOFTWARE UPDATES AND EVIDENCE OF STAFF TRAINING.
UH, AND I MADE SOME OTHER NOTES THAT THIS COULD BE IN MY MIND, UH, SHOULD REALLY BE PAYING ATTENTION TO WHAT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IS BEING DONE IN TECHNOLOGY, NOT ONLY FOR USERS, BUT ALSO FOR OUR TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT, WHAT TYPE OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IS GOING ON WITHIN THAT DEPARTMENT, UH, THE REFRESH AND REINVESTMENT STRATEGY OR TECHNOLOGY HARDWARE.
AGAIN, I MENTIONED CYBERSECURITY AND REALLY DEVELOPING IT AND EFFECTIVENESS MEASUREMENT STRATEGY OVERALL FOR TECHNOLOGY.
AND LASTLY, I BELIEVE WE NEED TO INSTITUTE A PERIODIC OUTSIDE TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.
SO THAT'S A WHOLE, BUT, UH, REALLY IT'S IMPORTANT THAT ALL OF THAT BE ADDRESSED.
IT'S IN THE IT'S IN THE OES, BUT HOW ARE WE GOING TO BE MONITORING THE PERFORMANCE? THANK YOU.
UM, I HAVE TO HAVE TO ADMIT, I DIDN'T REALIZE
UM, AND I THINK WITHOUT A DOUBT, THAT'S PROBABLY OUR MAJOR FOCUS.
MY ONLY QUESTION WOULD BE ON THE OTHER THINGS THAT, UM, THAT YOU MENTIONED, THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND DATA, AND, UH, WAS IT REFRESH STRATEGY, EFFECTIVE MEASUREMENTS, AND I'LL, I'LL SALUTE THAT FOR SURE.
UM, AND THE EXTERNAL REVIEW, IS THAT SOMETHING WE SHOULD BE PUTTING IN THE OIE? WELL, I, I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD, UH, PUT IN A POLICY THAT, THAT IS, IT HAPPENS AS MUCH AS WE'VE DONE, YOU KNOW, WE DO AN AUDIT FOR OUR FISCAL PROGRAM.
UH, WE, WE GET IN OUTSIDE FOLKS TO TAKE A LOOK AT OUR, UH, HR PROGRAM.
TECHNOLOGY IS SOMETHING THAT IS SO COMPLEX AND SO FAST MOVING THAT BRINGING IN PERIODICALLY.
AND HOW OFTEN IS PERIODICALLY, I DON'T KNOW, THREE YEARS, FIVE YEARS.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT SHOULD BE, BUT BRING IN SOME OUTSIDE EXPERTS TO COME IN AND TAKE A LOOK AT OUR NETWORK, TAKE IT AND LOOK AT OUR, OUR PROCEDURES, TAKEN A LOOK AT OUR TRAINING AND JUST SHARE BEST PRACTICES FROM OTHER, UH, LIGHT SIZE ORGANIZATIONS
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THAT THEY DEAL WITH.JUST TO GIVE US ANOTHER SET OF EYES AND TECHNOLOGY, I THINK NEEDS THAT JUST LIKE OUR FINANCIAL SYSTEM, OUR HR SYSTEM AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
UM, THE THING THAT OIE MISSED, I THINK THAT INGRID BROUGHT UP WAS THE COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT THAT WASN'T A, IT'S NOT IN THERE AND I'M NOT QUITE SURE HOW THAT, HOW THAT WORKS OUT, BUT WE'LL PUT IT DOWN.
DAVID, CAN I ASK YOU A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS AS WE GO ALONG HERE? OR DO YOU WANT ME TO PUT MY HAND UP? WOULD YOU PREFER AN ELECTRONIC HANDS? OKAY, GOOD.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, MY, MY OVERVIEW OF MY GOALS FOR THIS TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE ARE WE'RE SORT OF WORD OF A VAGUE KIND OF WHAT I SEE THE POTENTIAL FOR THIS COMMITTEE SCOPE TO BE, BUT I DIDN'T WANT TO GET TOO SPECIFIC BECAUSE I DON'T, I WENT ONLINE, UM, AND THERE'S A BUNCH OF STUFF ON THE TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT THAT I THINK SEEMS LIKE IT'S OUT OF DATE OR AT LEAST A LITTLE BIT.
UM, AND I JUST KIND OF WANTED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE ALREADY DOING.
CAUSE I DON'T KNOW, LIKE TO, UH, COLONEL GUYERS POINT, YOU KNOW, WE SHOULD BE DOING SOME, SOME NETWORK MAPPING, FUNCTIONAL MAPPING, YOU KNOW, UH, EXCUSE ME, MAPPING OUR HARDWARE, BUT WE MAY ALREADY BE DOING THAT AND IT'S JUST NOT BEING BROUGHT TO THE BOARD.
SO THAT'S KIND OF, ONE OF MY FIRST POINTS IS BEFORE AS WE START TO INVESTIGATE WHAT THE SCOPE IS, WHAT ARE WE ALREADY DOING? AND I KNOW THAT ON THE TECHNOLOGY PAGE, IT SAYS THAT FOR ANY TECHNOLOGY PURCHASES, THERE'S A REVIEW COMMITTEE THAT'S MADE UP OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS, ET CETERA.
SORRY, I MAYBE IT'S JUST ME AND MY PHONE, MY IPAD CHATTERING AT ME.
SO I WOULD KIND, KINDA LIKE TO FIND OUT WHAT WE'RE ALREADY DOING TO SEE IF WE NEED TO THE SCOPE OR IF IT'S JUST SOMETHING THE BOARD IS JUST NOT BEING MADE AWARE OF.
I'M THINKING OF HOW TO GET THIS MOVING FORWARD.
MAYBE WE COULD JUST HAVE MARK MARKS ON, I BELIEVE, UM, WALK US THROUGH THE ALWAYS 17 PIECES AND WE'LL SEE WHAT WE'RE ALREADY DOING.
UH, AND THEN IDENTIFY SOME GAPS THAT WE SEE.
DOES THAT SOUND LOGICAL? DOES THAT SOUND GOOD TO YOU? MARK? IS THERE, THERE'S A LOT IN THAT, UM, IN THAT OIC AND AS INGRID SAID, YOU PROBABLY ARE DOING MOST OF IT ALREADY AND WE JUST DON'T KNOW IT.
WHERE DO YOU WANT TO START? LET'S SEE.
YOU WANT TO JUST START TROOPING THROUGH IT.
UM, NUMBER ONE, UH, ENSURE CONSISTENT BEST IN CLASS SUPPORT.
UM, UH, ONE OF THE WAYS WE MEASURE THAT IS THROUGH OUR WEB HELP DESK TICKETING SYSTEM.
SO FOR EVERY, UM, INSTANCE OF A TECHNOLOGY PROBLEM, WE ASK THAT OUR EMPLOYEES PUT IN A WEB HELP DESK TICKETS.
UM, WE USE THOSE TO ROUTE THE REQUEST PROBLEM TO THE CORRECT TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATE TO MAKE IT MORE EFFICIENT.
WE ALSO USE THAT AS A TRACKING MECHANISM TO FIND OUT WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE DISTRICT, BECAUSE IF WE SEE FOUR OR FIVE TICKETS FROM A CERTAIN SCHOOL, WE AUTOMATICALLY KNOW THAT IT'S NOT A ISOLATED ONESY TWOSY PROBLEM.
IT'S PROBABLY SOMETHING DEALING WITH A NETWORK SWITCH, MAYBE AN ACCESS POINT DOWN IF WE'RE SEEING A SUBSECTION OF A BUILDING WITHOUT CONNECTIVITY.
UM, WE ALSO USE OUR WEB HELP DESK TICKETS BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE BEACH WEB HELP DESK TICKET, UM, WE SEND THE USER A SURVEY AND WE ASK THEM MORE QUESTIONS, UM, ABOUT HOW WELL THE TECH DID, HOW TIMELY THE SERVICE WAS, WAS EVERYTHING ANSWERED FOR YOU AND YOUR PROBLEM WASN'T RESOLVED.
UM, AND AT THE END OF EVERY YEAR, WE TAKE THE RESULTS OF THOSE.
AND I PUT IN MY, UM, I PUT IN MY BUDGET REQUEST FOR THE FOLLOWING YEAR.
SO I'D LAY OUT HOW MANY RESPONSES WE GOT, HOW MANY WEB HELP DESK TICKETS WE ANSWERED, HOW MANY RESPONSES OF SURVEY REQUESTS WE GOT BACK AND THE ROUGH PERCENTAGE OF WHERE THOSE SURVEY RESULTS LIED.
UM, FOR THE SECOND ONE REVIEW GENERAL TECHNOLOGY.
SO THAT'S ONE OF MY QUESTIONS.
SO IF, IF WHAT I'M READING FROM THAT OVERLY IS THAT IT SHOULD BE PROACTIVE AS WELL AS REACTIVE, RIGHT? LIKE, IS THERE ANYTHING IN THERE WHERE YOU'RE IDENTIFYING WHAT STAKEHOLDER EXPECTATIONS ARE AND
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THEN, YOU KNOW, HOW ARE WE PREVENTING PROBLEMS? CAUSE I DON'T THINK THE WEB HELP DESK IS DOING ENOUGH OF THAT.DO YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL STEPS OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD MAYBE WORK ON IN THIS COMMITTEE? UM, WE USE IT AS A TOOL.
WE ALSO HAVE OTHER PIECES OF SOFTWARE THAT REVIEW THE NETWORK.
ONE IS OUR, UM, UH, RYAN SOLAR WINDS, WHICH CONSTANTLY LOOKS AT ALL THE EQUIPMENT IN OUR DESK.
THAT WAS ONE, WE STAY UP TO DATE WITH OUR PRODUCTS.
UM, WE USE A PIECE OF SOFTWARE CALLED A VONTAY THAT CONSTANTLY GOES OUT AND DOES PATCH UPDATES ON ALL OF OUR SERVERS.
SO PROBLEM WOULD, MOST OF THE DISTRICTS THAT ARE INTIMATE, THAT GOT CAUGHT WITH THE SOLAR WINDS PROBLEMS WAS THEY WERE TWO REVERSIONS BEHIND ON THEIR SOFTWARE.
AND NOT ONLY IS IT A GREAT PRODUCT IT'S CHEAP, UM, COMPARED TO OTHER PRODUCTS, IT'S ABOUT A QUARTER OF THE COST.
SO WE SAVE A LOT OF MONEY FOR THE DISTRICT USING IT.
UM, SO WE, WE USE, UM, VONTAY TO HELP WITH PATCH MANAGEMENT.
UM, IT LETS US KNOW WHEN ANY OF OUR SERVERS ARE OUT OF DATE.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT A COUPLE OF NEW PATCHES THAT CAME OUT FROM MICROSOFT, FROM VULNERABILITIES AND THEIR, UM, WINDOWS 12 PRODUCTS.
UM, UH, WE ARE ALREADY ON WINDOWS 16 AND WORKING ON WINDOWS 19 FOR OUR SERVERS.
WE ONLY MAINTAIN ONE WINDOWS, 2012 SERVER THAT'S BECAUSE OF A LEGACY ISSUE WITH THE SOFTWARE AND WE CAN'T UPGRADE IT YET UNTIL IT GETS THINGS DOWN, HOPEFULLY WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR.
UM, WE DO KEEP EXTRA WATCH ON THAT SERVER TO MAKE SURE ALL THE ANTI VIRUS AND EVERYTHING IS PATCHED.
WE ALSO USE A TOOL CALLED SCCM, WHICH IS SYSTEM MANAGEMENT CENTER FROM MICROSOFT.
THAT IS THE WAY WE DEPLOY, UH, POLICIES.
WE DEPLOY, UM, ANTIVIRUS TO ALL OF OUR USERS AND SERVERS THROUGHOUT THE DISTRICT.
THAT'S ANOTHER ONE OF OUR KEY.
UH, YOU KNOW, I, I HEAR ALL THIS AND IT SOUNDS GREAT, BUT I LOOK AT THIS LIKE THE WIZARD OF OZ, I'D LIKE TO LOOK BEHIND THE CURTAIN.
I WOULD LIKE TO LOOK AT, SEE THOSE LOGS.
I'D LIKE TO SEE THE DESK AND WHO HANDLES THAT AND HOW IT'S HANDLED AND HOW THE REPORTS ARE SENT THROUGH YOUR, YOUR, YOUR SYSTEM THERE SO THAT WE CAN SEE THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT YOU DEAL WITH ON A DAILY, WEEKLY, MONTHLY BASIS.
THAT'S A WAY TO GIVE US AN IDEA OF THE SCOPE OF YOUR OPERATION.
ONE OF THE THINGS I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT THIS COMMITTEE DOES IS GO TO YOUR SHOP AND HAVE A TOUR AND SEE YOUR, YOUR PEOPLE.
WHAT'S YOUR PEOPLE DO WHAT THEIR JOB DESCRIPTIONS ARE.
SO WE UNDERSTAND THE TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT AND WHAT THE TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT DOES.
WE HAVE A LOT OF GREAT BULLET STATEMENTS OF WHAT'S BEING DONE, BUT I'D LIKE TO SEE SOME OF THAT AS WELL.
AND DAVID, IF I MAY JUMP IN, I AGREE WITH THAT.
UH, COLONEL GARNER, IT'S JUST NICE TO HEAR, BECAUSE WHEN YOU SAY FOR NUMBER ONE, WHAT WE USE WEB HELP DESK TICKETS THAT DOESN'T GET, YOU KNOW, THAT DOESN'T GET TO A LOT OF TRUMPS SOLAR WINDS, YOU KNOW, THE AVANTI, ALL THOSE THINGS MAKE ME FEEL LIKE THERE'S A LOT.
THAT SEEMS LIKE A MUCH MORE COMPREHENSIVE ANSWER AS FAR AS WHAT YOU'RE ALREADY DOING.
UM, BECAUSE IF WE WERE JUST LOOKING AT WEB HELP DESK TICKETS, WEB DESK, HELP TICKETS, UM, THAT WOULDN'T BE GETTING THE JOB DONE AT ALL, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S A LOT MORE GOING ON.
AND I THINK TO COLONEL GODDESS PART, BE NICE TO SEE THAT SOMETIMES THERE IS.
AND ONE THING I MUST SAY UPFRONT IS THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO BE VERY DELICATE WITH THE INFORMATION SHARED TO THE PUBLIC FOR CYBERSECURITY.
UM, VERY NO PROBLEMS IN BITING YOU IN THE SPACE SHOWING YOU AROUND, BUT WE HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL WITH DOCUMENTATIONS IP ADDRESSES AND SECURITY SYSTEMS WE ARE CURRENTLY USING IN PLACE, UM, JUST TO KEEP THE NETWORKS.
AND I JUST, I DON'T REMIND HER WHERE WE NEED TO FOCUS ON RESULTS.
SO WE, UH, SO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT'S TAKEN US TO GET THROUGH THIS NUMBER ONE AND THAT'S OKAY.
CAUSE IT'S OUR FIRST MEETING AND WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA BOUNCE AROUND A LITTLE BIT.
UM, BUT WE, WE, WE DO NEED TO FOCUS ON RESULTS AND I THINK YOU BOTH MENTIONED IT, UH, DICK
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AND INGRID MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE RESULTS WE'RE GETTING FROM THIS TECHNOLOGY? UM, ARE THERE GOALS? ARE WE HITTING THEM OUT OR WE MONITOR IT? I THINK ANOTHER PIECE TO ADD TO THAT AS OUR, UM, BORDER NET FIREWALL, WE GET SOME VERY GOOD ANALYTICS OUT OF IT.UM, ON TRAFFIC COMING IN AND OUT THE AMOUNT OF TRAFFIC THAT GETS BLOCKED BEFORE IT EVER GETS MORE NETWORK.
UM, ANOTHER KEY PIECE IS OUR, UM, OUR EMAIL, UM, OUR, OUR EMAIL SPAM FILTER.
UM, THE SIMPLE FACT THAT ON AN AVERAGE MONTH, YOU KNOW, WE RECEIVE ABOUT FOUR TO 5 MILLION EMAILS.
AND OUT OF THAT, FOUR TO 5 MILLION EMAILS, MAYBE SIX TO 700,000 GETS TO OUR USERS.
THAT IS HOW MUCH IS MALWARE GRAY, WHERE RANSOMWARE ALL THE BAD STUFF THAT IS COMING INTO THE DISTRICT.
HAVE WE EVER HAD A RANSOMWARE ATTACK? YES, SIR.
I THOUGHT WE DID, UM, ON BOTH OCCASIONS, UM, ONE WAS THAT A HIGH SCHOOL, ONE WAS AT AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
WE NOTICED THE ATTACK, WE CUT THE INTERNET OFF TO THE SCHOOL.
WE MITIGATED IT RESTORED FROM BACKUP AND HAVE THE SCHOOL BACKED UP WITHIN TWO DAYS.
SO WE HAVE EXPERIENCED IT IN THE PAST.
UM, WE DO MAINTAIN, UM, BACKUPS.
WE HAVE, UM, OUR PRIMARY SAND, UH, SECONDARY SAND, UH, DOWN AT OUR SECONDARY DATA CENTER.
SO THAT'S TWO COPIES OF OUR DATA.
PLUS WE HAVE A, UM, A BACKUP SYSTEM THAT BACKS UP ALL THE DATA.
THEN AT NIGHT IT TAKES THAT DATA AND SENDS IT TO THE CLOUD.
SO WE HAVE FIVE TO SIX VERSIONS OF OUR DATA AT ANY GIVEN TIME.
WE USE THAT TO MITIGATE THE RANSOMWARE IN CASE IT GOES THREE OR FOUR DAYS, EVEN IF IT GOES A WEEK WITHOUT BEING NOTICED, WE CAN STILL GO BEYOND THAT BECAUSE WE DO WEEKLY SNAPSHOTS THAN MONTHLY SNAPSHOTS.
UM, I'M RETHINKING ONE THROUGH THESE NUMBERS BECAUSE I'M THINKING WE'LL BE HERE UNTIL CHRISTMAS.
WELL, IN ALL FAIRNESS, ONE WAS BIG.
ONE SORT OF ENCOMPASSES EVERYTHING, YOU KNOW? RIGHT.
AND, AND NUMBER TWO, I THINK IS PRETTY BIG TOO.
I THINK THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THE DICK HAS FOCUSED ON.
FORTUNATELY, THE STATE HAS, UM, THE OUTLINE FOR OUR TEMPLATE.
UH, THEY SAY IT'S COMING AROUND CHRISTMAS.
WELL, BUT WE TALKED ABOUT THIS AT THE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE.
THE STATE PLAN IS NOT A VIABLE STRATEGY.
I MEAN, IT'S SORT OF AN OUTLINE OF WHAT WE'RE DOING AND KIND OF A NICE THING TO HAVE ON FILE, BUT IT'S NOT REALLY, UH, YOU KNOW, OUTCOMES, KEY RESULTS KIND OF THING.
SO HOW WOULD WE TAKE THAT AND IMPROVE IT TO GET IT TO A RESULTS THING? CAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON, MARK FOCUSED ON RESULTS.
AND I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS IS, ARE GETTING OUR BANG FOR THE BUCK.
UM, BECAUSE YOU KNOW, THERE'S A RED FLAG THAT GOES UP WHEN WE LOOK AT THE BUDGET.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S ALWAYS, THERE'S ALWAYS THIS REAL BIG, UH, ALLOCATION FOR, FOR TECHNOLOGY.
UM, AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT, THAT, THAT IS PAYING OFF THAT THAT'S MONEY WELL SPENT.
SO SOMEHOW WE NEED TO WORK THAT IN AND I THINK THAT'S A BIG RESULT.
UM, AND WE CAN CERTAINLY GO THROUGH THESE TODAY.
I GUESS THEY'RE GETTING, WE CAN ARRANGE A TOUR.
I WON'T GO ON THAT TOUR, BUT, UM, WHEN, UNLESS IT'S AFTER OCTOBER, BUT, BUT, UH, UH, DECODING CERTAINLY CAN.
SO WE'VE GOT THAT DOWNTIME FOR ALL SYSTEMS. SO YESTERDAY, NO, I THINK, YES, WE DO REVIEW THAT.
WE REVIEW THAT ON MULTIPLE SYSTEMS. WE HAVE MONITORING REVIEW THAT TECHNOLOGY.
WE BASICALLY STANDARD WHERE WE DON'T END TECHNOLOGIES AS X SCHOOL IS NOT DIFFERENT THAN Y SCHOOL.
I PROVIDED DEVICE FOR EVERY KID.
WE PROVIDE A ACCESS POINT FOR EVERY CLASSROOM.
UM, AND THEN AFTER THE REFERENDUM IS COMPLETED, WE WILL HAVE OUR CAMERAS SYSTEMS AND SECURITY SYSTEMS, UM, BACKED UP TO DATE.
UH, DO WE MONITOR AVAILABILITY OF BROADBAND TO OUR STUDENTS? I KNOW THAT'S NOT IN OUR DAILY WICK RIGHT NOW.
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YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT, WE'RE NOT THE ONES WHO ARE GOING TO PUT FIBER OUT THERE OR EVERYTHING ELSE, BUT EQUITY OF TECHNOLOGY NOT ONLY IS IN SCHOOLS, BUT EQUITY OF TECHNOLOGY IN THE HOME, BECAUSE WE'RE STILL GOING TO BE NEEDING TO BE ABLE TO LINK TO OUR HOMES IN OUR RURAL AREAS OF THE COUNTY.AND, UH, WE, I KIND OF UNDERSTAND WHERE WE HAVE THE PROBLEMS, BUT IT WOULD REALLY BE HELPFUL TO HAVE SOME KIND OF A VISUAL TO SHOW GEOGRAPHICALLY WHERE WE NEED TO PUT HOTSPOTS AND SO ON IF WE EVER HAVE TO GO BACK TO, UH, ALL VIRTUAL AND SO ON.
BUT SO, SO EQUITY IS NOT JUST HARDWARE IN THE SCHOOLS.
EQUITY IS ACCESS FOR STUDENTS AND PARENTS TO USE, UH, OUR, OUR TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS. YEAH, NO, I WAS GONNA SAY THERE IS A MAP YOU CAN GET, I CAN FORWARD YOU THE LINK DICK THAT WILL SHOW YOU ALSO THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
UM, YEAH, THE, THE SOUTH CAROLINA, UH, BROADBAND MAP, CAUSE THEY JUST PART OF CARES, ACT FUNDING WAS TO FUND A HUGE BROADBAND, UM, AUDIT.
SO I CAN SEND YOU THE LINK FOR THAT.
BUT THAT IS SOMETHING I'VE BEEN TALKING TO PEOPLE ABOUT AND PEOPLE ARE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT IS, YOU KNOW, EVEN WITHOUT GOING BACK TO VIRTUAL LEARNING, WE'RE ROLLING OUT MILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF ED TECH.
AND IF THE KIDS CAN'T GET IT AT HOME, IT'S NOT FAIR.
AND WE DO A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE USING SOME OF THEIR ARPA FUNDING TO EXPAND BROADBAND.
I'VE TALKED TO MARGARET, I'VE TALKED TO PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY THAT ARE VERY INVOLVED IN THIS WHALE.
BRANCH IS LESS THAN 20% OF THE HOMES HAVE BROADBAND CONNECTION.
AND WE JUST GOT A GRANT, BUT A CYBERSECURITY PROGRAM IN THERE SO THAT, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO MATCH THAT UP.
SO I'VE GOT, AND THAT'S SOMETHING I THINK THAT THIS TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE WOULD HAVE.
SO WE TALK ABOUT WHAT IS AN OUTCOME.
I THINK AN OUTCOME IS WE WANT EVERY STUDENT IN BUFORD COUNTY TO HAVE ACCESS TO HIGH-SPEED INTERNET.
SO WHAT INITIATIVES, WHAT RESULTS CAN WE HAVE? THERE'S SOME, SOME CREATIVE THINKING GOING ON, THERE IS SOME ARPA FUNDING THAT'S BEING USED FOR THIS.
UM, THERE ARE AREAS LIKE HILTON HEAD, HOT HILTON HEAD ISLAND GOT GREAT BROADBAND.
WE'RE DENSELY POPULATED AND PEOPLE ARE, ARE MOSTLY, UM, ON BROADBAND, BUT YOU GET OUT INTO THE RURAL AREAS AND IT GETS UGLY QUICK.
SO I THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE AN EXAMPLE OF SOMETHING THIS COMMITTEE CAN WORK ON AS AN OKR.
AND ONE THING TO ADD TO THAT, UM, THE BIG PUSH FOR SE BROADBAND IS TO HAVE THE WIRELESS MAPPING COMPLETED BY THE END OF 2021.
SO THEY'RE GOING TO OVERLAY BROADBAND AND CELLULAR SERVICES ON THAT SAME MAP.
AND I MEAN, 5G IS COMING ON AND THERE'S SOME TALK NOW BASICALLY BRINGING IN A VERSION OF DSL AS A POTENTIAL, YOU KNOW, SHORT-TERM FIX UNTIL FIBER.
ANYWAYS, THOSE ARE CONVERSATIONS WE CAN HAVE DOWN THE ROAD, BUT I THINK IT'S, I THINK IT'S HARD TO ME.
IT'S HARD TO SIT THERE AND BE EXCITED ABOUT A GRANT FOR CYBERSECURITY WHALE BRANCH WHEN 20% OF THE KIDS HAVE INTERNET, LIKE THAT JUST DOESN'T MATCH TO ME.
AND SO I DON'T WANT TO GET RID OF THE GRANT.
I WANT TO FIX THE 20% OF THE KIDS THAT DON'T HAVE INTERNET.
THAT'S SOMETHING FOR THE, TO DO LIST.
UM, SO THAT'S THE FOCUS FOR OUR COMMITTEE.
TO ME, THAT WOULD BE A KEY OUTCOME WOULD HAVE THE, OF TECHNOLOGY AND THE DISTRICT THAT THE COMMITTEE WOULD MONITOR INITIATIVES AND KEY RESULTS TOWARDS OKAY.
MONITORING AVAILABILITY OF BROADBAND AND UNDERSERVED AREAS.
I LIKE THAT BECAUSE I'M SURE IT HAS SOME NUMBERS IN THERE.
WE COULD EVEN HAVE A BUDGET ATTACHED TO IT AND ALL KINDS OF STUFF.
THEN YOU CAN PUT THOSE NUMBERS IN THERE AND ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU'VE GOT AN EQUATION.
UH, THIS IS NOT, I'M SORRY, I'M TAKING IT OUT.
BEFORE WE GET TOO FAR DOWN ON THE WEBSITE, IT SAYS THAT THEIR TECHNOLOGIES, THEY BROKE INTO TWO GROUPS, TECHNOLOGY SERVICES AND ED TECH.
AND TO ME, ED TECH IS LIKE SCHOLASTIC.
YOU KNOW, I READY, UM, SCRIBBLES, ALL THOSE, YOU KNOW, MILLIONS OF DOLLARS WITH THIS AUTHORIZED.
YOU'RE NOT REALLY IN CHARGE OF THAT.
UM, WE, I DO OVERSEE THE INSTRUCTIONAL SOFTWARE.
SO, UM, AFTER THE DECISION'S MADE, WE TECHNOLOGY REVIEWS IT AND ADMINISTRATIVE TECHNOLOGY REVIEWS OR A FIT WITH OUR NETWORK.
UM, AND WE OVERSEE THE BUDGET BECAUSE IN PAST WE FOUND THAT DEPARTMENTS, IT WAS EASIER FOR TECHNOLOGY TO MANAGE THEIR SOFTWARE BECAUSE WE KEEP UP WITH THE LICENSES AND WE MADE SURE THE DISTRICT IS SAFE FROM LAWSUITS.
[00:30:01]
FOUND THAT IT WAS SO EASY FOR THEM TO HAND LICENSES AROUND AND WE'RE DOUBLE-DIPPING FINES THAT CAN COME BACK TO THE DISTRICT.SO WE BASICALLY SET UP AND TOOK THE LEAD IN THAT.
NOW THEY STILL AUTHORIZE THE TRANSACTIONS, BUT WE OVERSEE IT AND MAKE SURE IT MESHES WITH THE DISTRICT'S OVERALL HARDWARE.
YOU'RE GUARANTEEING THE TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF IT.
AND WHEN WE, YES, AND OUR ED TECH TEAM IS LED BY COLLEEN BECK.
UM, AND THAT GROUP IS A MIXED GROUP.
WE SHARE HARDWARE APPROVALS BECAUSE EVERY TIME THE SCHOOLS WANT TO USE SOFTWARE OR HARDWARE, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S FIRST OF ALL, OKAY.
WITH ISD AND, AND ALSO A GOOD FIT FOR OUR NETWORK AND NOT A SECURITY RISK.
AND THEY ALSO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MAJORITY OF OUR TRAINING FOR OUR STAFF.
SO WE WORK HAND IN HAND TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS GOING CORRECTLY.
THEY ALSO ADMINISTER OUR EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE, UM, ALL OF THE STUFF THAT HAS TO HAVE STUDENTS ROSTERED IN, UM, WE USE OUR CLASSROOM LINKED SYSTEM TO HELP MAKE THAT A SINGLE SIGN ON AND AN EASY PROCESS FOR OUR STUDENTS.
SO THEY DON'T HAVE TO REMEMBER 20 PASSWORDS FOR EACH ONE OF THE SITES THEY ENTERED.
THEY ONLY REMEMBER ONE, YOU SAID OUR CLASSMATE SYSTEM IS ASKED, WHAT IS THE CLASSMATE SYSTEM? SO THERE'S A SINGLE SIGN-ON CLASS LINK IS OUR SINGLE, BECAUSE THEY JUST ROLLED OUT SCRIBBLES.
AND IT'S NOT A SINGLE SIGN-ON SCRIBBLES AS OUR STUDENT ONBOARDING.
THAT DOESN'T FALL UNDER THE CLASS LINK STUFF.
NO, BECAUSE IT'S ACCESS BY PARENTS.
THE ONLY THING ACCESS
UH, NUMBER FIVE OR, UH, RECEIVE RECOMMENDATIONS.
NOW WE FORMALLY, UH, ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF ABOUT A YEAR AND THREE QUARTERS ALMOST TWO YEARS AGO WAS THE LAST TIME WE MET BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC.
BUT BEFORE WE HAD A TECHNOLOGY STEERING COMMITTEE THAT MET EVERY THREE TO SIX MONTHS, DEPENDING ON GETTING EVERYBODY HERE AND WHAT WAS, IT WAS BASICALLY MADE UP OF TEACHERS AND STAFF MEMBERS, PRINCIPALS.
AND IT WAS A GOOD TIME TO GET A FEEL OF WHAT WAS GOING ON IN THE GROUND AT THE SCHOOLS.
UM, WE ALSO LET THEM BRING RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, THAT WAS ANOTHER ONE OF THE WAYS THAT WE, UM, SAY A SCHOOL WANTING TO RUN A NEW PROGRAM.
WELL, THE SCHOOL WANTED TO PAY FOR IT.
THEN WE WOULD REVIEW THAT PROGRAM TO SEE IF IT WAS A FIT AND MAYBE TO BE MOVED TO ALL ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS OR ALL MIDDLE SCHOOLS.
UM, IT WAS VERY HELPFUL, UNFORTUNATELY WITH THE PANDEMIC AND EVERYTHING INVOLVED IN IT, WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO HAVE THOSE, UM, MEETINGS WE HOPE TO GET THERE.
IT SEEMS LIKE THAT WOULD BE AN INSERTION POINT FOR SOME COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT, UM, GET THEM ON THEIR COMMITTEE.
AND THAT WOULD SATISFY AT LEAST SOME WE'D BE GETTING SOME, I MEAN, THAT COMMITTEE, I MEAN, THAT, THAT COULD BE RUNNING SORTA LIKE THE SIC.
SO IT WOULD BE EASY TO HAVE INVOLVEMENT.
SO THAT, YEAH, THAT SATISFIES ONE OF THE THINGS IN GROUP BROUGHT UP, UM, NUMBER SIX, WE, WE NEVER HAVE ENOUGH MONEY IN TECHNOLOGY.
WE ALWAYS SEEK ANY VERSE MEANT ANY FEDERAL FUNDING, ANYTHING WE CAN APPLY FOR.
IF WE SEE IT, WE TRY TO GET IT BECAUSE EVERY TIME WE DO THAT, WE OFFSET SOME MONEY THAT WAS GOING TO BE SPENT FROM THE DISTRICTS, BUT, UM, MONITOR ON AN UNAUTHORIZED AND AUTHORIZED NETWORK, UM, OFF ACCESS TO THE NETWORKS.
UM, WE ARE CONSTANTLY MONITORING THAT.
WE HAVE A PROGRAM CALLED ADA AUDIT THAT MONITORS, EVERY TIME SOMEBODY LOGS INTO OUR SYSTEM, IT TELLS US WHAT TIME IT TELLS US WHAT DEVICE THEY WENT ON AND THEY ENTERED OUR NETWORK.
UM, AND NOT ONLY THAT, IT, IT GIVES YOU A GOOD PICTURE, UM, OF WHAT SOMEBODY WAS DOING AND HOW LONG THEY WERE ON.
SO IT GIVES US A VERY GOOD INFORMATION.
IT ALSO LETS US KNOW IF SOMEBODY IS ATTEMPTING TO TRY TO LOG IN AND ARE FAILING AND REPEATEDLY.
SO IT WILL SEND THE ALERTS FOR THAT
[00:35:01]
TOO, AND ENABLE US TO GO, HEY, WHAT'S GOING ON HERE? ALL RIGHT.MONITOR ONLINE, UH, UNAUTHORIZED ONLINE DISCLOSURE, UM, PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION, UH, PERSONAL IDENTITY.
AND I OCCASIONALLY, EXCUSE ME.
ONE IS WITH OUR CONTENT FILTERING, WE USE IBOSS FOR OUR CONTENT FILTERS.
UM, WE USE A HYBRID VERSION OF IBOSS MEANING ANY DEVICE THAT'S IN ONE OF OUR BUILDINGS AUTOMATICALLY PASSES THROUGH A PHYSICAL APPLIANCE TO FILTER ANY TRAFFIC, LEAVING OUR BUILDINGS THAT COVERS EVERY DEVICE THAT TOUCHES THE INTERNET IN OUR BUILDINGS.
NOW FOR OUR STAFF AND STUDENTS THAT LEAVE OUR BUILDINGS, WE USE WHAT'S CALLED A HYBRID METHOD.
WE USE A VPN TUNNEL BACK TO OUR DISTRICT THAT DOES DOMAIN AUTHENTICATION AND CONFIRMS THAT THE EYEBALL SESSIONS IS GOOD.
AND THEN ALL THE TRAFFIC RUNS DIRECTLY FROM THAT MI-FI OR THAT STUDENT'S, INTERNET'S DIRECTLY OUT TO THE INTERNET.
THEREFORE WE'RE NOT UTILIZING ANY DISTRICT BANDWIDTH FOR THAT TRAP.
UM, ENSURE THAT THE DISTRICT HAS APPROPRIATE DISASTER RECOVERY AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANS.
WE DO HAVE A DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN.
THAT IS, UM, THAT IS A WRITTEN PLAN, BUT FOR OUR MORE APPROPRIATE DAY TO DAY BUSINESSES, WE ARE CONSTANTLY MAKING SURE THAT, EXCUSE ME, LET ME, LET ME JUST MEET THAT.
THEY WANT ME BACK, UM, SORRY ABOUT THAT.
UM, WHERE WAS THAT? SO DISASTER RECOVERY.
SO WITH OUR BACKUP SYSTEMS OR MULTIPLE COPIES OF BACKUP, UM, AND OUR SYSTEMS WE USE TO MONITOR THE NETWORK FOR INTRUSIONS, UM, MONITOR PHYSICAL SECURITY QUESTIONS.
UH, MARK, DO WE TELL ME ABOUT, UH, WHAT SERVERS WE HAVE THAT ARE OUTSIDE OUR, UH, POWER GRID SO THAT, THAT, UH, THAT WE SAVE OUR DATA FOR CONTINUITY YOU'RE YOU'RE YOU OBVIOUSLY, YOU SAID YOU HAVE BACKUPS, YOU HAVE BACKUPS ON SITE.
YOU HAVE BACKUPS UP SITE IF OFFSITE WHERE OFFSITE.
WE HAVE BACKUPS AND TWO PLACES ON THE SITE, INSIDE THE DISTRICT AT OUR PRIMARY AND SECONDARY DATA CENTERS.
THEN WE HAVE OFFSITE BACKUPS IN THE BARRACUDA CLOUD.
WE CONTRACT WITH BARRACUDA AS OUR BACKUP PROVIDER.
WE HAVE A PIECE OF HARDWARE ON, ON PROPERTY THAT WE HAVE A PRIMARY, AND THEN WE STORE SNAPSHOT.
SO WEEKLY, MONTHLY, UM, DATA IN THEIR CLOUD, WHEREAS BARRACUDA SITUATED BARRACUDA HAS MULTIPLE, UH, KNOCKS AROUND THE UNITED STATES.
SO IT'S NOT ONE PLACE THEY FOLLOWED THE AMAZON, MICROSOFT.
YOUR DATA WILL BE HOT IN TWO PLACES AND COLD IN ANOTHER.
I JUST WANT TO POINT OUT, WE NEED TO UPDATE THAT DISASTER RECOVERY.
I'VE BEEN SAYING THIS AT BOARD MEETINGS BECAUSE THE VIRTUAL REALITY NOW WITH THE ZOOM AND VIRTUAL CLASSES AND EVERYONE HAVING DEVICES K THROUGH 12, I, YOU GUYS WORKING ON THAT.
CAUSE I FEEL LIKE THAT THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE SOONER RATHER THAN LATER WE ARE.
THE LAST TIME IT WAS DONE, WE ACTUALLY HIRED AN OUTSIDE CONTRACTOR TO DO IT FOR US.
AND WE'RE ACTUALLY LOOKING AT DOING THAT AGAIN, JUST BECAUSE OF THE DETAIL.
I MEAN, YOU GOT TO GET POWER REQUIREMENTS, UPS REQUIREMENTS, UM, THROUGHPUT FOR EVERY CLOSET.
AND THEN WHAT CRITICAL PIECES ARE, SHOULD BE THE FIRST ONES TO BE BROUGHT BACK UP IN THE CASE OF A DISASTER.
UM, SO WE WOULD PROBABLY REQUEST HELP FROM AN OUTSIDE SOURCE TO DO THAT JUST BECAUSE OF THE INTENSITY OF THE PROJECT.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT IF, IF WE'RE ON THE BOARD, WE WOULD PROBABLY WANT TO SEE MORE THAN EVERY EIGHT YEARS.
DAVID IT'S LIKE MAYBE IT WAS THREE YEARS.
ACTUALLY I THINK PROBABLY UPDATED EVERY YEAR.
UM, MY QUESTION ON THAT IS THE BUSINESS CONTINUITY IS THAT, IS THAT WOVEN INTO THAT DISASTER RECOVERY BECAUSE YOU CAN BRING INTO THE SYSTEMS UP, BUT IF YOU DON'T HAVE A PLACE FOR THE PEOPLE TO DO ANYTHING, IT'S USELESS.
ONE OF THE THINGS WE WORKED ON OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS IS MOVING MORE SERVICES TO THE CLOUD BECAUSE
[00:40:01]
WE ARE IN A HURRICANE CORRIDOR.SO IF OUR BUILDINGS GET KNOCKED OFF THE MAP, UM, THE MORE SERVICES WE DO TO THE CLOUD, WE'VE ALREADY MOVED EMAIL.
WE'RE USING MICROSOFT AS YOUR CLOUD SERVICES, WHERE WE MAINTAIN DOMAIN CONTROLLERS UP IN THE CLOUD.
THEREFORE OUR BUILDINGS GET WIPED OFF.
WE LOSE OUR MAIN INTERNET CONNECTION AT OUR FACILITY.
OUR USERS CAN STILL USE EMAIL IN BASIC SERVICES.
UM, ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS WE DO IS, UM, USING OUR PASS CARDS.
SO WE KNOW WHO'S ENTERING SECURED SPACES, WHO'S ENTERING NETWORK CLOSETS.
WE ALWAYS LIKE WE DON'T LIKE KEY DOORS IN OUR IT CLOSETS BECAUSE ANYBODY CAN HAND THAT KEY OR LOSE THAT KEY AND JUST TWIST THE KNOB AND GO RIGHT IN.
WE WANT, UH, UH, A CHECK EVERY TIME THAT HAPPENS AND A LOG OF THAT QUESTION.
TALK TO ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL PHYSICAL SECURITY.
IN OTHER WORDS, UH, HOW MUCH EFFORT IS SPENT AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE, WE HAVE OUR CLOSETS AND OUR ROUTERS AND OUR SERVERS IN A PLACE THAT IS VERY SECURE AGAINST WATER INTRUSION OR, UH, NO PROBLEM.
UM, I WILL TELL YOU THE TRUTH.
UM, TECHNOLOGY HAS BEEN AN AFTERTHOUGHT IN EDUCATION.
WE WERE GIVEN CLOSETS, WE WERE GIVEN STOREROOMS AND WE'VE MADE DO, UM, AND WE ARE WORKING THROUGH THE REFERENDUM PROCESS TO EXPAND THE SPACE AND THESE ROOMS, UM, THESE ROOMS DID NOT MEET OSHA REQUIREMENTS, BUT SINCE THEY WERE GRANDFATHERED IN, WE WERE ALLOWED TO DO IT, BUT THE TECHNICIAN DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH ROOM TO WORK IN THERE.
SO THROUGH THE REFERENDUM, WE ARE EXPANDING THE SIZE OF THEM, MOVING THEM TO ADEQUATE AREAS TO MEET THOSE NEEDS.
AND WE ARE DESIGNING OUR NEW BUILDINGS WITH DESIGNED AND INTENTIONAL SPACES FOR TECHNOLOGY.
UM, AND THE LAST ONE ENSURE CONTINUED ENGAGEMENT WITH TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS.
UM, WE DO MEET WITH, UM, OUR GRAY AND SOME OF OUR OTHER PARTNERS IN THE AREA WE MEET WITH VERIZON.
UM, BUT ONCE AGAIN, IT'S VERY HARD, UH, FOR US TO DRIVE A LOT OF CHANGE IN THAT WE ASK FOR CHANGE, BUT IT'S HARD FOR A BUSINESS TO SPANS HALF A MILLION DOLLARS TO MAKE 10,000 MINUTES BY RUNNING FIBER THROUGH AN AREA.
ARE YOU, ARE YOU ALSO, UH, REACHING OUT TO MAJOR PARTNERS IN THE BUFORD COUNTY, FOR EXAMPLE, DO YOU HAVE MEETINGS WITH TECHNOLOGY WIZARDS FROM THE HOSPITAL, FROM THE PURINE BASIS FROM THE, UH, OTHER BIG INSTITUTE, THE COUNTY COUNCIL COUNTIES, BECAUSE THERE'S, A LOT OF TIMES WE HAVE SILOS TECHNOLOGY SILOS IN AN AREA, AND THERE'S A LOT OF REDUNDANCY THAT WE COULD SAVE MONEY IF WE JOINED UP IN NETWORK ACCESS AND SO ON.
AND SO THAT'S THE QUESTION WHEN I READ THIS, I SAID, WHO ARE OUR TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS OTHER THAN OUR GRAY AND SO ON? DO WE PARTNER WITH COMMUNITY? WELL? UM, UNFORTUNATELY FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS, WE HAVE NOT HAD THOSE MEETINGS WITH OUR PARTNERS AT THE HOSPITAL.
THEY USED TO BE REGULAR MEETINGS.
UM, WE WOULD MEET ABOUT ONCE EVERY SIX MONTHS AND HAVE A LUNCH AND SIT DOWN AND TALK ABOUT ISSUES.
WHAT'S NEW, WHAT NEW SYSTEMS YOU'RE ROLLING OUT? WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE OF THAT SYSTEM? HOW'S IT GOING TO HELP YOUR ORGANIZATION? UM, BUT UNFORTUNATELY WITH COVID, THOSE THINGS HAVE NOT BEEN HAPPENING RECENTLY.
ANOTHER MEETING WE DO IS, UH,
UM, SO WE HAVE THAT MEETING FOR THE SOUTHEAST.
SO WE GET A LOT OF PEOPLE FROM SAVANNAH, THE SAVANNAH HOSPITALS DO FOR AIRPORT WHILE THEY'RE NOT HERE FOR ANYMORE, BUT WHATEVER THEIR NAME IS TODAY, UM, UH, THOSE TYPE INDIVIDUALS AND THOSE ARE VERY GOOD HIGH LEVEL NETWORKING MEETINGS BECAUSE IT DEALS WITH THE BM WHERE THE SERVER AND THE SWITCHING SIDE.
[00:45:01]
THANK YOU.I'M NOT SURE HOW APPROPRIATE THE SHELL KNOTS ARE, BUT LET'S, WE'LL TAKE A LOOK AT THEM.
I THINK YOU REALLY NEED TO RESPOND TO THE SHELL NUTS.
WE HAVE AN INTERPRETATION ON THIS AND I ASSUME THAT YOU WROTE THIS.
AND WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT IT, I'M SORRY, MR. CHAIR.
UM, WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT AN OPERATIONS, THAT WAS LIKE, TO ME, ONE OF THE THINGS W WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT
AND I THINK IF I JUST KEEP SCROLLING, THAT'S WHAT THE MONITORING INDICATORS ARE.
IS THAT RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT.
SO THAT'S THE THING TO ME THAT WAS NOT QUITE ENOUGH, RIGHT? BECAUSE IT WAS REACTIVE.
IT WASN'T PREVENTATIVE, IT WASN'T, UM, COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS YOU'VE GONE ON AND TOLD.
AND I, WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT THIS, OPERATE, THIS, THIS ZOE THAT HAD COME OUT OF FINANCE, UM, MY THOUGHT WAS I HAD A LOT OF THINGS THAT I THOUGHT COULD BE FLESHED OUT A LOT MORE.
UM, BUT WE WERE ALREADY TALKING ABOUT A TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE, WHICH IS WHERE I THINK A LOT OF THIS STUFF WOULD COME BECAUSE TO ME, THERE'S JUST A LOT MORE STUFF IN HERE THAT CAN BE SAID THAT YOU GUYS ARE ALREADY DOING.
BECAUSE WHEN I LOOKED ON OUR WEBSITE, IT LOOKED LIKE WE HAD A LOT MORE GOING ON THAN WHAT'S IN THE OES.
LIKE THE OLD SORT OF WAS LIKE, HERE'S THE MINIMUM OF WHAT WE HAVE TO DO.
UM, AS OPPOSED TO, HERE'S SOME THINGS THAT WE CAN DO.
AND I THINK TO, UH, COLONEL GYRES COURT, CAN WE SEE SOME OR AN OCCASIONAL REPORT ON LIKE SOLAR WINDS IS THE, YOU KNOW, HOW DATA MOVES ACROSS THE NETWORK.
I THINK YOU CAN PROBABLY HAVE THAT INFORMATION IN A, IN A, SOME SORT OF REPORT THAT DOESN'T GIVE AWAY ANY CYBERSECURITY ISSUES, YOU KNOW, WOULD THAT BE SOMETHING ELSE WE COULD ADD TO LOOK AT HOW WE'RE PREVENTING PROBLEMS? THAT'S WHY I KIND OF WANTED TO HEAR WHAT WE ALREADY WERE DOING.
AND MR. ON THAT, I MENTIONED THIS TO TANYA A NUMBER OF TIMES, BUT OUR ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE MUNIS THAT I BELIEVE IS A PROBLEM.
AND I KNOW THAT THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT HAS USED THAT, BUT NEWNESS IS SHORT FOR MUNICIPAL.
IT IS NOT CONFIGURED FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
THERE ARE ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE THAT ARE CONFIGURED FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
AND THE REASON WE ARE IN EUNICE IS FRANKLY, WE WERE TOLD TO BE IN MUNIS BY THE COUNTY COUNCIL.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I REALLY BELIEVE THAT THIS DISTRICT SHOULD EXPLORE.
I'M NOT SAYING CHANGE IT, BUT SHOULD EXPLORE THE FUTURE ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE FOR THIS DISTRICT.
AND HAVING GONE THROUGH AND REPLACED AN ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE AT ANOTHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION.
I KNOW IT'S A BIG JOB, BUT THE SAVINGS AND THE EFFICIENCY EARNED BY USING A ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE FOR AN ACADEMIC ORGANIZATION WAS SIGNIFICANT.
AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I BELIEVE WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT AS FOR FUTURE STRATEGY ON OUR ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE.
OH, THAT BRINGS A QUESTION TO MY MIND.
WOULD THAT, WOULD THAT END USER TYPE OF SOFTWARE BE THE PURVIEW OF THIS COMMITTEE OR WOULD IT REALLY BELONG IN, UH, AND THAT IS JUST THE FINANCE COMMITTEE, UM, BECAUSE THERE'S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MARK'S TECHNOLOGY AND THAT TECHNOLOGY, RIGHT? AND WE'RE TALKING NUTS AND BOLTS, NETWORKING, AND AVAILABILITY HERE.
IF WE EXPAND IT TO SOFTWARE, THEN WE'VE GOT A MUCH BIGGER, MUCH BIGGER, UH, WELL IMPACT.
IT WOULD IMPACT EVERYTHING, ACADEMICS, HR, FINANCE, UH, EVERYTHING IT IS.
THAT'S WHY IT'S CALLED ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE.
AND SO IT IS NOT JUST TECHNOLOGY.
THE BIGGEST ISSUE FOR THOUGH IS TECHNOLOGY ON WHERE IT'S HOSTED, HOW IT'S HORSE HOSTED THAT THE STORAGE CAPACITY AND ALL OF THAT THOUGH, THE BACKBONE OF AN ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE SYSTEM RESTS SOLELY WITH THE TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT, THE, HOW IT'S USED THERE'S EVERY USER HAS DIFFERENT USES,
[00:50:01]
BUT ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE HANDLES HR.IT HANDLES REPORTING TO GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES AND EVERYTHING.
IT IS THE UMBRELLA SOFTWARE FOR AN ORGANIZATION AND MUNIS IS NOT AN EDUCATIONAL.
AND THEN THERE'S OTHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS THAT ARE USING IT.
BUT IF YOU'VE EVER SEEN AN EDUCATIONAL ORIENTED ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE, YOU WOULD BE AMAZED AT WHAT REPORTS YOU CAN GET EASILY THAT SCHOOL BOARDS NEED TO GET AND MANAGEMENT NEEDS TO GET BECAUSE THEY BUILD THEM FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND NOT FOR MUNICIPALITIES.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE LOOK AT, I THINK GOES INTO THE, UH, STRATEGY.
BUT THIS IS, THIS REALLY FITS INTO THIS PART HERE ABOUT MOST, THE BEST TECHNICAL SYSTEMS AND EXCEEDS STAKEHOLDER EXPECTATIONS AND SO ON.
I DON'T BELIEVE MUNIS DOES THAT.
I DON'T DISAGREE AT ALL WITH THE MUNI'S THING.
YEAH, NO, I THINK THIS IS A KEY THING FOR THIS COMMUNITY TO LOOK AT.
AND I, AS AN OUTCOME IS, ARE WE MAXIMIZING OUR TECHNOLOGY AND OUR SOFTWARE? UM, AND WHAT I'LL TELL YOU IS WHEN HAD TOLD ME THAT WE USE MUNIS.
UM, BUT I KNOW AS A PARENT, I'M ALWAYS LIKE POWERSCHOOL, FOR EXAMPLE, HAS AN HR COMPONENT.
POWERSCHOOL HAS A FINANCE COMPONENT.
POWERSCHOOL HAS A RECRUITING COMPONENT, BUT YET WE HAVE MUNIS, WE HAVE POWERSCHOOL, WE HAVE APPLICANT, WHICH IS NOW FRONTLINE EDUCATION.
AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS, AND THIS IS VERY COMPARABLE TO WHAT'S HAPPENING IN HEALTHCARE IS DO YOU HAVE, DOES IT MAKE MORE SENSE TO HAVE A BEST IN SHOW SORT OF SAW, UH, WHERE YOU PIECE OUT, LIKE WHAT YOU THINK ARE THE BEST SOLUTIONS FOR EACH ASPECT, OR DO YOU HAVE AN ALL IN ONE? UM, AND I THINK THAT THAT IS A STRATEGIC GOAL AND SOMETHING THE BOARD SHOULD LOOK AT HOW IT TIES TO THE VISION OF THE DISTRICT.
I DON'T THINK IT'S, I THINK THIS WOULD BE THE COMMITTEE TO DO IT IN MY OPINION.
WE HAVE SO MANY OVERLAPPING PRODUCTS, ARE WE GETTING THE MOST OUT OF EACH INDIVIDUAL PRODUCT AND SHE'LL BE LOOKING AT HOW THEY ALL WORK TOGETHER BECAUSE, UM, I DON'T KNOW WHY, WELL, THAT'S ANOTHER CONVERSATION, BUT I AGREE WITH DICK 100%, THERE ARE SO MANY LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS OUT THERE THAT HAVE BUDGET AND FINANCE SOLUTIONS AND HAVE HR SOLUTIONS THAT WE SHOULD BE AT LEAST LOOKING AT AND BENCHMARKING AND HAVING A CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS IS YOU GET WHAT YOU'RE USED TO, AND THEN PEOPLE ADD ON.
AND ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU'VE BEEN DOING THAT FOR 10 YEARS.
YOU LOOK BACK AND YOU'VE GOT THIS KIND OF FRANKENSTEIN ON YOUR PRICE INEFFICIENT SYSTEM.
SO I WOULD SAY THIS WOULD BE A MAXIMIZING, A VALUE MAXIMIZING STRATEGY FOR, UM, SOFTWARE AND TECHNOLOGY.
SO, SO THIS COMMITTEE IS TECHNOLOGY AND SOFTWARE, NO DEPARTMENT.
AND MARK JUST SAID THAT HE'S IN CHARGE OF IT HAS TWO ASPECTS TO IT.
ONE IS THE NETWORK, THE HARDWARE, THE TECHNOLOGY, YOU KNOW, UM, INTERNET AND FIBER AND SWITCHES AND ACCESS POINTS.
BUT THEN YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE ED TECH, WHICH IS THE SOFTWARE, AND IT'S NOT SOFTWARE IT'S, IT'S SAS, RIGHT.
SO THOSE ARE, AND WE'RE SPENDING A LOT OF MONEY ON SAS.
UM, AND AS MOST DISTRICTS ARE NOW AND, AND THINGS ARE SHIFTING MORE AND MORE CLOUD-BASED SO THE HARDWARE IS STILL IMPORTANT, BUT HOW IT ALL WORKS TOGETHER AND HOW THOSE THINGS GET PURCHASED OR CONVERSE AT ALL.
DO YOU GUYS HEAR THAT? IS THAT JUST ME HOW THAT BECOMES A PART OF A STRATEGY, I THINK IS REALLY CRUCIAL FOR THE DISTRICT.
IF, TO PICK A POINT, LIKE, WHERE ARE WE GOING WITH ALL THIS TECHNOLOGY WE'RE PUTTING IN, WE AUTHORIZED $10 MILLION IN CONTINGENCY FUNDS, RIGHT? FOR TECHNOLOGY, WHAT WAS THE, WHERE ARE WE HEADING WITH THAT? UM, AND YOU CAN'T LOOK AT THAT WITHOUT LOOKING AT WHAT WE'RE DOING ON THE SOFTWARE END THERE TO INTEGRATE IT.
NOW IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE RUNNING A PROGRAM AND WE'RE DOWNLOADING IT INTO DOS AND RUNNING A PROGRAM.
SO I, I, TO ME, THAT'S WHY THIS COMMITTEE EXISTS IN A LOT OF WAYS IS BECAUSE IT'S THE INTERSECTION OF FINANCE, HUMAN RESOURCES, OPERATIONS TECHNOLOGY THE WHOLE BIT.
UM, OKAY, MARK, IF YOU EXPLAIN AGAIN, WHAT YOUR ED TECH OR THE, THE, NOT, NOT NETWORK PEOPLE, BUT THE OTHER PART OF YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES, YOU MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, EDUCATIONAL
[00:55:01]
SOFTWARE, YOU DO THE TRAINING, I THINK YOU SAID, UM, OUR, OUR ED TECH CHECK.OH, I'M GETTING SOME FEEDBACK ON THAT ONE.
UM, THE ED TECH COACHES TOO, UM, THE SOFTWARE AND TRAINING, UM, BUT WE OVERSEE THE BUDGET FOR IT TO VALIDATE LICENSING AND MAKE SURE WE'RE STAYING IN COMPLIANCE.
SO WE DON'T TELL ISB WHAT THEY CAN PURCHASE.
WE MAKE SURE IT'S OR ANY DEPARTMENT, WE MAKE SURE IT'S COMPATIBLE WITH THE NETWORK AND WE'LL RUN AND BE SAFE.
SO I THINK THE PIECE THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT NOW IS OUTSIDE OF YOUR SCOPE.
SO WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHO, WHO TO BRING IN FOR THAT, RIGHT? CAUSE YOU MAKE SURE THAT IT'S, THE PEOPLE ARE TRAINED.
YOU MAKE SURE IT'S AVAILABLE, BUT YOU DON'T EVALUATE, IT'S A FUNCTIONING ON EVALUATE HOW IT FITS WITH ALL THE OTHER THINGS THAT THEY REQUEST.
AND THAT IS A PIECE THAT'S MISSING.
AND I, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IS, YOU KNOW, WHERE DOES THAT END UP? WHERE SOMEBODY SAYS, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T REALLY NEED SIX PIECES OF SOFTWARE TO DO READING.
UM, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THAT'S COUNTERPRODUCTIVE BECAUSE THEN WE HAVE TO TRAIN ON SIX PIECES AND YADA, YADA, YADA, I THINK THAT'S WHAT THE, WHAT THIS COMMITTEE IS LOOKING FOR.
IF WE DON'T HAVE THAT, THEN WE NEED IT.
AND WHERE WOULD THAT BE? WHO TO, WHO TO BOUNCE THAT OFF OF.
BUT IT JUST SEEMS TO ME, AND IT'S JUST MY OPINION, LISTENING TO YOU THAT THERE IS NO POINT THERE IS, WE DON'T HAVE A SPOT IN THE ORGANIZATION THAT DOES THAT OVERVIEW.
AND S SAYS TO ONE AREA, YOU KNOW WHAT? WE'VE ALREADY GOT THIS SOFTWARE THAT DOES, THAT WE KNOW THAT YOU REALLY LIKE TO SALESMEN.
WE KNOW THAT HE BROUGHT YOUR COOKIES.
WE KNOW THAT YOU THINK THAT'S A GREAT PIECE OF SOFTWARE, WHICH YOU'RE GETTING BAMBOOZLED A LITTLE BIT BY THAT SALESPERSON AND THIS OVER HERE, WELL, WE'LL MEET YOUR NEEDS.
SO, UM, I THINK WE'RE LOOKING FOR THAT SPOT WHERE IN THE ORGANIZATION IS THAT SPOT.
AND CAN'T BE OUR COMMITTEE BECAUSE WE'RE NOT PART OF THE DISTRICT, BUT WE NEED TO OVERSEE THAT.
THAT'S THAT'S WHAT OUTSIDE ASSESSMENT COULD DO FOR US IS BRING IN A CONTRACTOR WHO DOES THIS KIND OF WORK FOR EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND HAS EXPERIENCE WITH LARGE SCHOOL DISTRICTS LIKE OURS AND COME IN AND DO AN ASSESSMENT.
TAKE A LOOK, TAKE A LOOK AT THE SOFTWARE INTEGRATION, TAKE A LOOK AT HARDWARE, TAKE A LOOK AT REFRESHMENT, TAKE A LOOK AT THE WHOLE GAMUT AND THEN REPORT TO THE BOARD OR REPORT TO THE COMMITTEE AND THEN TO THE BOARD, OKAY, THIS IS WHAT WE FOUND.
AND THIS IS SOMETHING YOU SHOULD LOOK AT, BUT GET SOME EXPERTS IN THERE OUTSIDE EXPERTS TO COME IN AND GIVE US KIND OF THING WE GOT FROM OUR HR, UH, PEOPLE THAT CAME IN AND TOOK A LOOK AT HOW WE DO HR BUSINESS.
THERE ARE FIRMS OUT THERE THAT DO THIS.
I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH IT'S GOING TO COST, BUT WE SPEND A HECK OF A LOT OF MONEY ON TECHNOLOGY.
AND I AGREE WITH INGRID IS IT'S KIND OF AN OCTOPUS OUT THERE AND THERE'S A LOT OF, A LOT OF SALESPEOPLE.
LIKE YOU MENTIONED THAT SAY, LOOK AT, LOOK AT MY SHINY PENNY.
I GOT HERE BY MINE AND NOT DOESN'T, DON'T, DON'T USE THAT OTHER SYSTEM BECAUSE YOU KNOW, THIS IS BETTER.
UM, I REALLY LIKED THE IDEA OF BRINGING IN A CONTRACTOR IN AS OPPOSED TO THE THREE OF US DOING IT.
NO, ACTUALLY, I MEAN, I DO KNOW SOME, I CAN REC I MEAN, NOT THAT I CAN, BUT I MEAN, I KNOW I'M SURE DICK DOES TOO.
AND I KNOW SOME PEOPLE THAT DO THIS, THAT DO KIND OF MAPPING AND WHATNOT AND AUDITING, BUT I MEAN, THE DISTRICT CAN FIGURE OUT WHO THEY, THERE ARE PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, IN CITIES THAT COME OUT AND DO IT.
IT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE THING THOUGH, LIKE WITH THERE'S NOWHERE IN THE DISTRICT, LIKE YOU SAID, UM, MR.
AND I JUST IN, IT'S BOUGHT BY FRONTLINE.
THEY HAVE ALL THESE THINGS THAT I DON'T THINK WE'RE USING LIKE
[01:00:01]
THAT, YOU KNOW, HOW I I'M BIG IN DATA, RIGHT? I'M A DATA ANALYST.THERE'S ALL THIS DATA THAT THEY GIVE THE DISTRICT.
IT LOOKS AT YOUR HIRING TRENDS AND COULD BENCHMARK THAT AGAINST, YOU KNOW, SAY CHARLESTON AND ORIE COUNTY IN JASPER.
AND I DON'T THINK I'M DOING THAT, BUT I DON'T KNOW.
THAT'S NOT REALLY THE BOARD'S JOB PER SE, BUT I THINK FROM A BOARD PERSPECTIVE, I WANT TO KNOW THAT SOMEBODY IS DOING THAT.
UM, AS OPPOSED TO JUST WE'RE BUYING THIS, WHAT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME IN HEALTHCARE IS YOU'D BUY A, UH, A SAS AND YOU USE 20% OF IT.
SO IS THERE A PLACE FOR THE BOARD TO COME IN AND SAY, WE WANT TO REVIEW THIS, UH, YOU KNOW, PROGRAM AND ARE WE GETTING EVERYTHING OUT OF IT THAT WE THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO GET OUT OF IT WHEN WE BOUGHT IT? IS THAT A REASONABLE THING FOR THE BOARD TO DO NOT LIKE GET DOWN INTO ALL THE OPERATIONAL DETAILS, BUT SORT OF, YOU KNOW, WHY, WHY AREN'T WE USING THIS PIECE? LIKE I KNOW FRONTLINE, THEY DO A LOT OF DATA ANALYTICS THAT YOU CAN GET.
I DON'T KNOW IF WE'RE DOING THAT OR NOT.
MAYBE WE DON'T WANT TO, I JUST DON'T KNOW IF THOSE CONVERSATIONS ARE BEING HAD ANYWHERE.
IN EVERY INDUSTRY, YOU BUY THE SOFTWARE, BUT THAT'S TRUE OF MY CAR.
I'M NOT EVEN AWARE OF BECAUSE I DON'T NEED THEM.
I THINK WE WOULD BE A GOOD, GOOD TIME TO STOP HAT AND JUST REVOLVE ALL THIS OVER.
UM, I THINK WE HAVE ONE BIG TO DO, WHICH I REALLY LIKED IS TO GET THE CONTRACTOR IN.
I THINK THAT WOULD SET THE TONE FOR THE COMMITTEE.
SO I THINK THAT'S A HARD AND FAST TO DO FOR US.
UM, WE CAN MULL OVER ALL THIS OTHER STUFF.
SO MARK, HOW DOES THIS SOUND TO YOU? WHAT ARE WE, ARE WE GOING DOWN A RAT HOLE HERE? ALL RIGHT.
WELL, IN THESE COMMITTEE MEETINGS.
SO IF YOU THINK THAT, THAT WE ARE GETTING TOO FAR DOWN IN THE WEEDS AND BECOMING A BURDEN, YOU NEED TO SPEAK UP BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, JUST NATURAL CURIOSITY.
I THINK WE ALL HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF A BACKGROUND IN IT AND IT'S JUST NATURAL HUMAN NATURE IS WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO GET DOWN IN THE WEEDS.
UH, SO YOU'RE GOING TO, YOU'RE GOING TO NEED TO BE A GOVERNOR FOR US ON THAT.
I WILL BE HAPPY TO RAISE MY HAND IF IT INTERFERES WITH THE SECURITY OF THE DISTRICT AND I WILL STOP THAT.
BUT OTHER THAN THAT, I'M HAPPY TO HELP.
SO WHAT DO YOU THINK, UH, WE'LL TRY TO TRY TO DOCUMENT WHAT WE'VE DONE HERE TODAY AND THEN JUST CONTINUE IT AT OUR NEXT MEETING.
I DON'T THINK WE REALLY SHOULD WAIT A MONTH BECAUSE SINCE WE'RE, BECAUSE WE JUST STARTED, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO GET OUR SCOPE BEFORE WE GO INTO A MORE RELAXED SCHEDULE.
UM, SO ROBIN, ROBIN CHECK WITH EVERYBODY TO SEE IF WE CAN DO IT IN LIKE TWO WEEKS OR SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, INSTEAD OF WAITING A MONTH, ONCE WE'VE, WE'VE GOTTEN OUR, OUR MISSION PRETTY CLEAR.
I THINK MAYBE THEN WE CAN GO ONCE A MONTH KIND OF DEAL.
BUT RIGHT NOW I THINK WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO REALLY PUT A LITTLE EXTRA ENERGY INTO GETTING THAT FENCE AROUND WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO.
CAUSE IT'S, IT'S A LOT BIGGER THAN I AM.
ARE YOU LOOKING AT, WHEN YOU SAY IN ABOUT TWO WEEKS, THE FIRST WEEK IN AUGUST? SO IF I COME UP WITH SOME DATES THAT DOES THAT WORK FOR EVERYONE, AND I DO HAVE A SNEAKY SUSPICION THAT OUR AUGUST 3RD, UM, MEETING, IT'S GOING TO BE A BIG ONE.
SO WE MAY WANT TO DO LIKE THURSDAY OR MONDAY.
UM, AND YEAH, IT'S MY SENSE TOO.
CAUSE 10 OF THE LAST 11 HAVE GONE OVER.
SO, BUT WE HAVE ONE WE'VE GOT TO HOLD ON TO THAT ONE.
I KNOW THAT, THAT, YEAH, THAT'S WHAT SOME PEOPLE SAY.
THE BEDDING PEOPLE DON'T, DON'T GO THAT WAY THOUGH.
IT'S THE VETTING PEOPLE SAY NINE OUT OF 10 IS WHERE I'M GOING.
SO SEE WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR US, ROBIN.
I THINK WE'VE EXHAUSTED TODAY.
SO LET'S, THERE'S ANY OBJECTION OUT THERE
[01:05:01]
AND WE'LL SEND OUT THE MINUTES OR THE, THIS WRITEUP AS SOON AS WE CAN TO GET, TO GET YOUR FEEDBACK, MAKE SURE IT'S COMPREHENSIVE.