At the December meeting of the Farmingdale Board of Education, Marc Licht, the district's administrative director for information services, made a presentation regarding the up-and-coming board of education website, which is currently in the development stage.

On the site, residents will be able to view the agenda of both the next board meeting as well as past board meetings, including the approved minutes of meetings as they become available. The board still has to decide how far back the minutes will be archived.

Additional information which will be available on the site will include the Direct Line, the district's newsletter, which is distributed to interested residents around the time of each school board meeting. In addition, administrators plan to include parent opinion surveys so those who have Internet access can take surveys right online.

Perhaps the most important feature which will be available on the site, and is currently available on the district website at www.farmingdaleschools.org, is the "Urgent News" function, which allows residents to directly link their e-mail address with the school district so they can be immediately notified in the event of any emergencies, such as a school closing due to inclement weather.

Licht noted that the board is aware that not all residents have Internet access and of course plan to accommodate them as well. However, since many residents do, board members felt that having this site will help them better connect with the community.

In an effort to better serve residents, the district will also make all school policies (which are currently only available to board members as they are still being proofed), as well as agendas and minutes, searchable, so residents can type in a key word and locate items that pertain to what they're looking for.

"What we're trying to do is get information out as quickly as possible," Licht said, explaining why the board asked for such a site to be available to the community. "One of the major reasons is to improve communications with the community at large."

Licht noted that board members asked that this be completed as quickly as possible and it's in the board's hands as to when the site will be available to residents through the district's existing website. He explained that since the district is aware that there are residents without Internet access, they are always invited to connect to the Internet either at the Farmingdale Public Library or in one of the district schools.

Following Licht's presentation at the board meeting, President Anthony Vitale said that the board feels strongly that residents need to be aware of the happenings in the district, especially what occurs at board meetings. He and fellow board members agreed that this new site will hopefully increase the level of communication between the school district and its residents.