[CALUG] Open letter to new school board member

[Jim Sansing]

Charles Bass wrote:
> Hi Jim,
>
> I like the tone and the message of the letter, however, I would
> advocate that we make more of a case for reducing the number of
> proprietary systems and solutions currently employed by district in
> their administrative offices and schools. Currently, the elementary
> schools use Apple systems, while the middle schools use Microsoft
> Windows. While I am not certain what the high schools use, it is
> likely either Apple or Microsoft.
>
> The school district can reduce its yearly IT budget significantly by
> switching to Linux The old saws that need to be addressed are training
> costs and administrative costs. Hopefully, someone can quantify the
> cost savings and the way to reduce or eliminate training and
> administrative costs. I am doubtful that the district can switch to
> Linux entirely, nice though that result would be, but even if they
> switch half of their systems, they can achieve a sizable cost
> reduction on a yearly basis.
>
> One note about the Howard County Public Library. While the publicly
> available computers run on Linux, the staff systems are still running
> Windows. I was saddened when I made this discovery as I too thought
> that they switched entirely to Linux.
>
> Regards,
> Charles Bass
>
Charles,

Thanks for the feedback.  When I moved to HC, my daughter was in middle
school, so I am not familiar with HC elementary schools.  This is why I
wanted to get CALUG input.  I would also appreciate hearing more details
on the library so it is stated correctly (I know we have members who can
provide this ;-).

At my daughter's middle school, there were some old Apple systems, but
all new systems were Microsoft.  In HS, it was more of the same with
more newer Microsoft systems.  The thing that got to me was that her
teachers only accepted Microsoft Office file formats.  We have no copies
of MSO in our house, so she ended up retyping her reports on a HS
library computer.  I have to admit, this is one of my hot buttons.

I agree with you that they 'should' convert, however if we advocate
that, it sounds like Apple supporters saying that the schools should
convert to iMacs.  Also, there was a technology committee formed for
HCPS and from what I heard, they refused to consider anything but
Microsoft.  (Are there any members who have more info on this?)  Because
of this, I don't have any hope of convincing them to start planning a
conversion.  But if this letter leads students and parents (and maybe
Brian Meshkin) to learn more about FOSS, then it will have added to the
momentum.

> Dave Dodge wrote:
>> On Thu, Nov 25, 2010 at 04:10:38PM -0500, Jim Sansing wrote:
>>     
>>> which contributed updates for Security Enhanced Linux, working with
>>> a Howard County contractor (RABA?).
>>>       
>>
>> You're probably thinking of Tresys Technology
>> http://www.tresys.com/
>> http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Tresys+Awarded+a+Multi-Million+Dollar+Sole+Source+Contract+from+NSA-a0174746273
>>
>>                                         -Dave Dodge
>>
>>     
Dave,

Thanks.  I got lazy and didn't do the research in hopes that someone
would know the answer.
> akolasny at cis.jhu.edu wrote:
>> Jim,
>>
>> An interesting letter. Some comments:
>>
>>  1. It should be shorter and not provide solutions but instead invite him
>>     to discussions with Howard County Library, CALUG and Ubuntu
>>     groups.
>>
>>  2. From his interactions, it is hoped that a goal will be
>>     to integrate the HCL solution into school system. He has a
>>     working model to use which has proven itself.
>>
>>  3. Let him make the assessment that FOSS is the right solution. Merely,
>>     presenting him with opportunities for discussion. Let him make his
>>     own conclusions.
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Anthony
>>
>>
>>     
Anthony,

I hear what you're saying, and this is why I posted this to the list.  I
feel that sending it from CALUG gives it more weight than just some
random person.  However, Charles is recommending that we provide more
specific solutions.  So if it is to be from CALUG, we have to come to a
consensus.

As far as length, it is at the high end of letters published by the HC
Times.  But for now, I'm more interested in content, and once that is
settled, it can be edited for length.
> On Thu, Nov 25, 2010 at 4:10 PM, Jim Sansing <jjsansing at verizon.net
> <mailto:jjsansing at verizon.net>> wrote:
>
>     I recently read an article in the Howard Count Times about the
>     recently
>     elected school board members.  One of them, Brian Meskin, is the
>     youngest member ever to serve, and his stated goal is to reduce costs.
>     I thought it might be worth sending an open letter to him from
>     CALUG to
>     encourage the use of open standards and look into incorporating FOSS
>     software in the school system.
>
>     Here is a first draft.  Any thoughts?
>
>     = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
>
>     An open letter to Brian Meshkin,
>
>     Congratulations on your election to the Howard County School
>     Board.  We
>     were happy to hear you say, "It's very easy to do more when you're
>     spending more, but it's harder to do more when spending less.  As a
>     board member, there's no authority on revenue.  All you can do is
>     figure
>     out how to save the money you currently have.  You have to figure out
>     how to do more with less, just like every family in Howard County is
>     trying to do in the recession."
>
>     We in the Columbia Area Linux Users Group (http://www.calug.org)
>     encourage you to use open standards to help you achieve your goals.
>     When organizations are locked into closed standards, they are
>     forced to
>     follow the vendor's upgrade schedule, while those that mandate open
>     standards are free to take advantage of market competition, including
>     Free and Open Source Software (FOSS).  An example of this would be to
>     require every classroom to accept assignments in not only Microsoft
>     Office formats, but also in the international standard Open Document
>     Format, or at least the well-documented PDF format.  This allows
>     students and their families to use software such as Open Office, which
>     is free to download and use without licensing restrictions.
>
>     To learn about the cost savings of FOSS, contact (the IT
>     department?) at
>     the Howard County Library, which uses Linux almost exclusively on all
>     computers, including staff systems.  And if you simply want to learn
>     more about Linux and FOSS, our members will be happy to talk with you.
>
>     You should also consider that it is in the interest of students to
>     learn
>     about multiple platforms, including the Linux operating system.
>     According to Dice.com, Linux job postings are increasing while
>     those for
>     other platforms are decreasing.  Here in the Washington, DC area,
>     there
>     are many government agencies heavily involved in deploying the Linux
>     operating system, including NASA, NOAA, and the NSA, which contributed
>     updates for Security Enhanced Linux, working with a Howard County
>     contractor (RABA?).  Also, there are two companies in Howard County,
>     that were built around open source computer security projects, Tenable
>     Inc. and SourceFire Inc.
>
>     We wish you success in your quest to continue improving the quality of
>     education here in Howard County, in spite of the difficulties posed by
>     the current recession.
>
>     Columbia Area Linux Users Group
>
>
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