The joint school committee hopes to integrate more technology into the curriculum. To do this the committee is considering creating a position for a director of technology for the four districts.

With planning underway for the 2013 budget, the committee proposed Thursday night to study including the new position in the budget.

Superintendent Douglas White Jr. and Rochester School Committee Vice-Chairwoman Sharon Hartley asked the committee members to compare the proposal with the resources available to the school districts.

According to Hartley, “We are working very hard and we care about the technology, but it is lacking in consistency.  We need someone to provide help in the schools.”

Hartley said the estimated salary of a Director of Technology would range between $80,000 and $100,000.  This figure is in comparison with other school districts that have already created a similar position.

Members of the Technology Subcommittee suggested the funds be divided among the four districts with the elementary schools having to give less than the high schools. Their reasoning being that the younger grades have less of a need of the services a technology director would provide.

For now the members of the committee agreed to work on the details of the proposal before presenting it for the start of the budget process. Any vote in favor or against it will be saved for that time.

In other business:

White presented the committee with a report that may waive the No Child Left Behind Act in the local districts.  Members were asked to review the materials and to be ready to make their arguments for or against at the next meeting.

Both White and Hartley added that next year the districts hope to see a 40 percent growth rate in MCAs scores for students.

The committee also accepted two additions to their Authorized Use of the Internet policy.  The latest revisions require students to agree not to meet with anyone they met online and to understand that anyone they have met online may have misrepresented themselves.