The first meeting of the BEN Consortium was held May 14, 1998, at the Butte County Library in Chico, California, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.  Those in attendance were:

Call to Order and Bylaws Amended -- Vikki Gillett and Rick Light welcomed members and proposed several items be reviewed and amended in the bylaws:

(1) In Article II, Purpose, add a sixth category, management information systems. Last sentence will now read, " The activities generally fit in six categories: maintaining telecommunications infrastructure including Internet/intranet access, training, technical assistance, management information systems, cooperative purchasing and pursuit of funding. " Dr. Lee Funk made the motion to approve the change; second by Rick Light; approved by consensus of members.

(2) In Article II, Relationship, last line to now read, "Butte County Office of Education provides services shared by all members through agreements with BEN Consortium with approval of consortium chairperson(s)." Susan Watts made motion to approve the change; second by Michael Grady; approved by consensus of members.

(3) In Article V, Committees, Tim McClure reviewed the possible need for a Technology Committee in the future.  If the need becomes evident, the committee could be created at that time by the Executive Committe as permitted in Article V,1.  The recommendation was to remove Article V,2, Technology in Learning Committee from the bylaws.

Chair-Elect -- Rick Light made the motion to nominate Lee Funk  to serve as Chair-Elect for the remainder of this year, and Chairman for 1999; second by Michael Grady and approved by consensus of members.

E-mail -- Members agreed e-mail will be used as common method of communication.

District representatives -- There is a need to clarify who will represent each district and have the ability to vote.  There will be issues discussed in the June meeting, and consensus may not be possible.  Representation will become a critical aspect when voting in June.   Chairpersons Vikki Gillett and Rick Light requested that Marcia Griswold, secretary, contact district superintendents prior to the June meeting and request their input.

Brown Act -- Lee Funk inquired whether the BEN Consortium is in compliance with the Brown Act.   After review of the government code, members agreed to post the agenda publicly although members are not part of a legislative body.

E-rate -- Allen Rader stated applications are being revised or corrected and returned to Schools and Libraries Corporation (SLC) as each is returned to him.  The next step in the program will be a review for integrity of the proposal.  Clearly time is running out for the 1997/98 fiscal year, and payables and receivables effected may need to be carried over into the next fiscal year.  Also, immediate plans for bandwidth expansion would be delayed unless a partial or temporary plan is implemented.  Of 30 applications, 22 with problem resolutions have been corrected and returned by Allen.

Russ Selken explained there are times now where bandwidth is carrying a peak load.   It becomes critical to buy more bandwidth with the expectation of more need in the fall.  Members requested that Russ prepare a presentation of interim solutions to include timelines, cost and service factors and implementation portion of hub equipment at the next meeting.  

Allen Rader noted the Universal Service Funds are perennial.  To unappropriate these funds would require a bill signed by both houses of Congress and the U.S. President.

Filtering --  Susan Jeffers requested advice on filtering programs and proxy servers at the last meeting.  Russ Selken and Dennis Partington distributed information and reviewed. Russ Selken indicated Information Technology Services will serve as consultant  for districts who want filtering information and will be able to assist with any purchasing of filtering programs or equipment required. Dennis Partington described SurfWatch in detail. Benefits include large staff, good support and hands-free upgrades along with a strong name reputation  and performance awards.  This program would sit on a local proxy server, and it saves bandwidth, but may not be considered as cost effective.  Dave Niemeyer noted a master proxy server may be possible, but questioned whether it would be scalable.

There is a possibility the E-rate regulations may impose the need for filtering to be eligible for funds.  If not, then consortium will make a recommendation to superintendents to implement or for individual districts to pursue.  Several districts could join together to filter through a common proxy server and  could provide additional server space for mail or web space.  Filters constantly need to be upgraded to be effective, and maintenance cost must be considered.  At this time, 1 FTE is used to cover this cost.

Vikki Gillett reported Chico Unified School District has a policy which forbids filtering. Policy is posted on their web site.  American Librarian Association also discourages filtering.   Allen Rader remarked the Butte County Office of Education uses a disclaimer with the current Internet filtering program.

Anti-virus Program -- Russ Selken reported MacAfee will close their special sale offer tomorrow. Normal price is $60 per workstation; sale is $10.95. 

June Meeting -- Topics for the June meeting will include E-rate update, T-1 project, filtering, voting and recommendation for district superintendents.  

Next Meeting: District superintendents, staff with technical expertise or interest in these matters are encouraged to attend.    Meeting will be held on June 15, 1998, 2:30p.m. to 4:00p.m. in Conference Room 1 at 1859 Bird Street, Oroville, California.  Fiscal/Technical Committee will meet same date and place at 1:30p.m. prior to the meeting.

Respectfully submitted by,

Marcia Griswold, Secretary

Information Technology Services

Butte County Office of Education