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ConVal board hears first read of generative-AI policy, staff push phased rollout and privacy checks
Summary
Board members and staff spent an extended first-read session on a new generative-AI policy and implementation plan that emphasizes staff-first rollout, product vetting and privacy protections; the plan also uniquely adds sustainability considerations for AI use. The policy was sent back to the policy committee for revision to add annual reporting to the board.
A first read of a new generative-AI policy drew sustained discussion at the Contoocook Valley School District board meeting as staff described a short policy paired with a living implementation plan that includes tool approval, privacy checks, AI-use declarations and professional development.
The policy team, led by the superintendent (Dr. Forrest) and the district’s generative-AI committee, said the goal is a policy that sets shared terms and general guidelines while a separate plan governs approvals, privacy and classroom uses. "If you're using generative AI, you are responsible ... for the content of it," the superintendent said, stressing that staff must review any AI-generated material before sharing it.
Why it matters: the presentation made clear the district will first focus on staff uses (professional development, planning and administrative tasks) and only move to student-facing deployment after staff training and tool vetting. The plan also requires that vendors meet privacy agreements that protect student and staff data and that approved tools be cataloged in an approval workflow on the district platform.
What staff told the board: the technology integration specialist raised environmental and sustainability concerns tied to increased compute and water usage for large AI models, saying the expansion of data centers has real resource costs. "The data centers are taking over the demand that we can produce on the grid," he said, urging careful, targeted use rather than casual experimentation. Staff showed examples of "permissible" and "not permissible" uses and gave an example prompt used for administrative scheduling as an illustration of acceptable, human-reviewed starting points.
Board questions and next steps: board members pressed on rollout timelines, grade-level limitations, how assignments will be assessed in an AI era and whether the district would pilot vendor platforms (staff said a free pilot of a product called Flint is underway for exploration). Concerned about oversight, one board member asked that the annual plan and any policy recommendations be reported to the board; the board moved to return the draft policy for modification and to bring the updated plan and any policy-change recommendations to the board for annual review.
The board did not adopt the policy at the meeting; the policy will return to the policy committee for revision and be scheduled as a future read.
