LANCE LOTT, CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER

A decision has been made to delay the go-live date for the new district website until the week
after Labor Day. The technical side of the project will be complete in early August, but the
decision was based on the heavy volume of website visitors during the first couple of weeks.
The “look and feel” of the website will be very different and we did not believe it would
be in the best interests of our customers to change until after we get through the first
couple of weeks of school. The ten schools that are piloting the new content management
system will still be able to bring their new websites up at the beginning of the school year
if they have their web content complete.

The Customer Service Center employees continued their training this week and even
took overflow calls in controlled situations. They have developed an extensive Knowledge
Base they are using for reference information. One key responsibility this group is taking
on is the receipt and processing of transfer requests. The actual approval process will
take place outside the Customer Service Center in K-12 Administrative Services. We
are providing some extra support during the school year startup to process the large
volume of requests we receive the first two weeks of the school year.

CHRIS HENSON, ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT FOR BUSINESS AND FACILITY SERVICES

During one of our final budget sessions, information was requested regarding the amount
that MNPS received for building use fees. For fiscal year 2004-05, MNPS collected
$214,584.92 in facility use fees to cover the costs of utilities, maintenance/custodial
services, and indirect expenses.

PAM GARRETT, BOARD CHAIR

Attached is an interesting article from the August, 2005 issue of the American School Board Journal.
It is entitled “Tales of Micromanagement, Part I”. This article gives six common reasons board
members micromanage. Please take the time to read this short article.

PEG/jw

Attachment:

Article from the August, 2005 issue of the American School Board Journal