SCOE to go paperless for its meetings

MODESTO -- The Stanislaus County Office of Education has decided to move to paperless meetings, a change many school districts are weighing to avoid making pounds of paper copies. The county board, however, plans to do it at virtually no cost.

At their meeting Tuesday, trustees voted 3-0, with Chairman Luis Molina and member Merle Kronberg absent, to beef up their visibility on the Stanislaus County Office of Education website and get county office email addresses to make them easier to contact.

But instead of getting new iPads, the board decided to use county office computer castoffs. SCOE head of technology Bob Gausman said the hardware no longer meets the fast-evolving needs of his office but easily can handle the emails and PDF files of county board business.

In other matters, the board:

• Considered a report on county superintendent salaries. Stanislaus Superintendent Tom Changnon's total compensation is $185,926 annually, the lowest of 10 medium-sized counties used for comparison. Highest is San Joaquin County Superintendent Mick Founts, who makes $268,282 a year in salary and benefits.

• Heard a presentation on media coverage of the county office school shooting simulation. The Bee story was used as far away as London, leading to network TV coverage using Bee video clips. The national news, however, focused on a concern that student actors were frightened in the exercise, Assistant Superintendent Sue Rich said. Counselors offered post-incident support. Up to five of the 20 students involved chose to use the service, staff said, but no ongoing concerns were noted.

• Applauded the SkillsUSA team of Valley Charter High, 25 students who all won regional awards qualifying them for state competition. The group is raising funds for the trip and competition jackets. The 25 now share seven uniform jackets.

• Heard the county office will wrap up its Choose Civility initiative this year using a compilation of student works on the topic

Bee education reporter Nan Austin can be reached at naustin@modbee.com or (209) 578-2339, on Twitter, @NanAustin, www.modbee.com/education.