Technology committee asks superintendent to run districtwide technology climate survey

Beaufort County School District’s Technology Committee voted Aug. 11 to ask the superintendent to conduct a districtwide technology climate survey to clarify needs and priorities for devices, website usability and strategic staffing.

The recommendation, moved by committee member Mister Ney and seconded by the committee chair, instructs the superintendent to design surveys that include administrators, school staff, teachers, students and parents and to return results to the committee for consideration. Committee members said the survey will inform whether to hire outside consultants and identify priorities before allocating budget resources.

Committee members described the survey as a first step to provide evidence-based guidance. Colonel Geier, who suggested retaining consultants for periodic strategic reviews, said outside expertise should be used to “tell us what we need to be doing near term and far term.” Members cautioned, however, that the district must define clear deliverables and a prioritized list of outcomes before hiring external consultants so the district gets measurable results.

The chair and other members emphasized practical goals for the survey: identify where parents and staff struggle with current online tools, measure usage of applications such as PowerSchool, and assess parent awareness of policies (for example, the Acceptable Use Policy requirement to file a police report for stolen devices). Several members said survey results should help the district set realistic next steps and budget priorities.

The committee voted in favor of forwarding the recommendation to the full board; the item will be included in the board’s upcoming work session for further consideration and possible action.

The committee scheduled a follow-up meeting for Sept. 15 at 4:00 p.m. and asked staff to return with a draft survey instrument and usage numbers from the device-tracking vendor.