By Eileen Oldfield Staff Writer
School notices could fill parents’ e-mail inboxes rather than their kids’ backpacks if the Board of Education decides to nix paper copies of the information.
Though the board is still discussing the matter, Communications Committee Chairwoman Judy Haas said that her committee discussed e-mailing notices to parents during her committee report at Monday’s board meeting, after several parents contacted the board about the amount of paper sent home during the first days of school.
According to District Superintendent Edward Forsthoffer, two to three parents expressed interest in receiving administrative notices via e-mail, citing cost savings from using less paper, convenience and environmental concerns.
Ms. Haas suggested e-mailing certain notices, or using the district’s Instant Alert system to notify parents about various forms. She mentioned that each district school’s handbook is on the school’s Web site, which could eliminate the need for printed copies of the book.
The board is still discussing the possibility of a “paperless” district, though consensus at the meeting seemed to gravitate toward allowing parents to opt into e-mailed notices or hard copies of notices, as board members suggested potential problems for residents without computers.
”How are they (parents) going to deal with a flat-out ‘no paper’,” Steven Paget said. “You’re going to have to deal with the certain amount of people who don’t have computers.”
Board member John Donnadio questioned the use of the Instant Alert system for administrative notices, asking whether the parents would ignore the alerts.
”Part of my concern is that the Instant Alert is overused,” Mr. Donnadio said. “. . .I get an Instant Alert on my phone, and half the time, I ignore it because it’s about a career fair. I’m wondering if other parents will ignore it.”
The board is still considering the “paperless” suggestions and discussing the viability having no paper notices, so no procedures have been established, Dr. Forsthoffer said.
E-mail addresses, however, could be obtained via the Instant Alert server, which can send messages to e-mail addresses exclusively.
”In the long run, it goes into our goal to provide quality education at a cost savings,” Dr. Forsthoffer said at the meeting.
But for district parents, cutting paper could just been a sign of the times.
”Everything requires a little progress,” Ms. Haas said. “There is a certain generation of parents who would prefer getting alerts via e-mail.”

