Communications committee agrees to hire local producer for six podcast/video sessions, to reallocate existing communications funds

The Communications Technology Committee on Sept. 15 agreed to move forward with a contract to hire local producer Adam Finger to record and produce an initial six podcast/video sessions and short promotional pieces, committee members said. Dr. Missy Friedman, the district communications lead, told the committee she lacks studio space, lighting and professional filming equipment and asked the committee to hire a contractor. "I don't have a studio space to do the recording. I don't have the film, equipment to do it, the lighting. I have none of those things," Friedman said. The committee agreed the contract would be funded from existing communications budget lines rather than a new appropriation. Friedman identified two line items with available funds: $5,000 allocated for travel and lodging and $15,000 budgeted for postage. A committee member said taking funds from one of those lines would be acceptable because Friedman did not expect to use them as originally budgeted. Why it matters: The multimedia work — part of a new weekly newsletter package and a planned monthly video/podcast called Take 5 with Dr. Friedman — would create a recorded archive, promotional materials and a video option for events that not all community members can attend. The committee framed the work as a pilot (six sessions) to test community interest and analytics before committing to a longer contract. Most important facts - Scope: six recorded podcast/video sessions and promotional ads to support the weekly newsletter and district communications. The proposal explicitly includes filmed episodes and short promotional spots for future outreach. - Funding: committee members agreed to reallocate existing communications funds (identified during the meeting as a $5,000 travel/lodging line and a $15,000 postage line) to pay for the contract; no new appropriation was requested. - Timing: the six-session contract was described as a pilot that could produce roughly one filmed episode per month during the school year. Friedman said the newsletter will continue weekly but that a monthly cadence for filmed episodes is more realistic. - Student work considered: staff discussed prior and ongoing student-produced video work and a high-school studio, but said student projects are currently in use or delayed and that professional production would ensure consistent, timely deliverables. Supporting details and background Friedman told the committee she had discussed mixing district and school events into a unified calendar and asked Apogee (the vendor name referenced in the meeting) to provide website-traffic charts for the district and its seven school sites so staff can see where users go and which pages attract attention. "I reached out to Apdigi to give me a chart for each 1 of our websites. So that would be all 7 of our schools, as well as the district's website," she said. (Apogee/Apdigi was named in the discussion; the committee said it will review those analytics once the vendor produces them.) Committee members and staff described prior in-house and professionally produced videos. One staff member said a professionally produced elective-night video created by Laura Bishop's team drew significant engagement and that professionally produced pieces have different reach and reusability compared with in-house student projects. Friedman said the district's recent Take 5 with Dr. Friedman newsletter had strong early engagement and that video could reach people who cannot attend in-person events: "The Take 5 with Doctor Friedman newsletter we put out, had over 1,200 views in less than a week." Committee members cited that engagement as evidence the multimedia pilot could increase outreach. Discussion vs. decision - Discussion: Committee members discussed options for using student-produced material versus hiring a professional; the cadence of episodes (monthly vs. weekly); the need for professional lighting, crew and editing to produce promotional material; and coordination with school events such as "Coffee in a Queue" and back-to-school nights. - Direction: Staff were directed to obtain website-traffic reports from Apogee/Apdigi for the district and each school so the committee can review audience data before further decisions. Friedman and staff will proceed with contracting for six sessions, funded from existing communications lines, and bring analytics and outcomes back to the committee for evaluation. - Formal action: The committee resolved to proceed with the contract by consensus; no formal roll-call vote was recorded during the meeting. Implementation and next steps Friedman will share the website analytics and the proposed deliverables for the Adam Finger contract with the committee for follow-up review. The pilot is designed to allow the committee to analyze audience metrics and then decide whether to expand the number of filmed episodes or adjust the budget line items. Ending Committee members said they supported testing the approach before expanding the program. The committee will reconvene on the communications items after staff provides the Apogee website-traffic report and the contractor's scope and contract terms.