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QUEEN CREEK— Queen Creek Unified School District (QCUSD) is leveraging the power of the Internet to radically improve the governance process while saving time, taxpayer dollars and the environment. This new eGovernance initiative will replace the old and costly method of compiling, printing, binding and distributing paper agenda packets by hand. The remarkably powerful, easy-to-use solution will enable 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 increasing productivity and saving thousands of dollars annually.
The paperless meeting solution, called “BoardDocs®”, was initially developed in the year 2000 for a Georgia school district. Since then, hundreds of governing bodies nationwide have adopted the system. By making meeting agendas and supporting documents available on the Internet, QCUSD will be able distribute documents associated with board meetings more quickly and efficiently, at a dramatically reduced cost to the organization.
Electronic distribution will not only save time and resources, but it will also provide unprecedented public access via the Queen Creek Unified School District’s Web site to agenda items and other governing body-related information. This process will allow interested parties to review information prior to board meetings. After the meeting, individuals can review the agenda items and see what action the governing body took, complete with voting results. All documents associated with the meeting are automatically archived and can be accessed by meeting date or by using the system’s comprehensive search feature.
Queen Creek Unified School District will also use the BoardDocs technology to publish its policies and procedures online for the public to easily view. Previously, paper versions of policy manuals were distributed and maintained throughout the organization. Now, by publishing them online, all interested parties can have access to the most current and historical meeting information immediately. Online distribution will also drastically reduce the expense of distributing policies and procedures.
Additionally, BoardDocs will increase the amount of time members of the governing body have to review agenda information, enabling them to better prepare for meetings. Under the old paper system, the meeting packet could not be distributed until every document had been prepared, submitted and approved. Once all the documents were submitted, staff members would typically spend two days assembling the documents into packets before distributing them to the governing body. 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.
The new eGovernance features can be accessed via the QCUSD Governing Board page at www.qcusd.org. For questions regarding the new eGovernance initiatives, contact QCUSD at 480-987-5935.
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