Databus Issue: 2008 2 07/17/2008
President's Message
Warren Williams PresidentHard Decisions Required This Year
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As we approach a year in which budget cuts take center stage, it will force IT professionals to make hard decisions about the quantity and quality of services they will be able to offer. In many districts, lay-off notices have already been distributed and deeper cuts are anticipated. Technology staffs that were already stretched too thin are expected to conduct business as usual and despite protestations from CTOs, superintendents and school boards will demand adherence to best practices and to the maintenance of systems in accordance with policy, regulations and a host of new laws. In this tense and confining atmosphere, the natural inclination is to cut the “superfluous” and retreat to core systems. Determining priorities takes on a new meaning and some will use the situation to reject those difficult-to-support enterprises. Unfortunately at the top of many lists will be educational systems, those pesky applications demanded by teachers to create state-of-the-art learning environments.
It is incumbent upon the CTO to reject the notion that core systems are those usually defined by business managers – student information, HR and financial systems. While these cannot be neglected, it is possible to put these systems into a maintenance only mode and temporarily delay planned updates or augmentations. It is possible to postpone the acquisition of networked storage systems, new fiber, the latest servers and new software revisions. What will hopefully be found at the front of core systems will be those items that support the classroom, teaching and learning. This is the real core of what educational institutions are designed to deliver.
This issue of the DataBus will explore a host of new applications that have the potential to transform education. Without a transformation, schools in California will retreat from the progress that has been recently made and initiate a precipitous slide toward mediocrity. Without the support and defense of CTOs, educational systems will be first on the block for cuts and students will suffer from antiquated models of instructional delivery.
In tight budget times, the creative application of new technologies can actually improve dismal budget allocations. The use new collaborative tools for teachers and students can save money. Online instruction negates the need for expensive new classrooms. Systems that promote paperless learning can save the costs for paper and print allocations. The creative CTO can assist his or her organization to actually move forward in tight budget times and in the process to actually improve the quality of teaching and learning. It is a cliché to state that cuts should be made farthest from the classroom (this never happens), but perhaps educational institutions might take some advice from CTOs about how this statement might become a reality.
