On Monday night, the Brainerd School Board accepted the resignation of the district's communications manager, Jill Neumann, who had been in the post for four years.
She provided the board with an overview of what she's done during the past four years, as well as emphasizing what work still needs to be done after she leaves, effective Dec. 21.
Neumann said the school district's website, www.isd181.org , serves as the front porch the Brainerd Public Schools presents to the community, so she spends a lot of time making sure that front porch is inviting. She also works on the district's marketing, branding and serving as a community presence in different civic organizations, but the website has been a big focus.
"I've been trying to fix up our website and some of that has been a bit of a challenge," Neumann said. "I'm hoping that you're seeing some differences."
When no one pays attention to the district's website, Neumann said, it falls into disrepair. The website actually consists of a visually pleasing front page and a collection of other pages, which contain all the relative information and have a different design.
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"That's why you see delays and differences and I've been trying to make them look the same," Neumann said.
Many parents use the website to find reliable, current information for their children's school, Neumann said, and that needs to be a focus. The district also needs a mobile-friendly website, which the current design isn't.
"We need easy-to-read, compelling content, and we need it consistent," Neumann said.
Neumann provided data to the board on what the website's traffic looks like. Traffic spikes during the school year and during the week, and declines in the summer and on the weekends. This school year's traffic is higher than last year's.
"Our website has taken off quite a bit," Neumann said.
The most popular pages are those for students, staff and parents, respectively. However, the 12th-most popular page is the "page not found" page, which is the page a user is directed to when they click on a dead link.
"In the last month, 2,800 people were unable to find what pages they needed," Neumann said. "And that's part of what I've been trying to do."
Working on the back end of the website is quiet work, Neumann said, but it makes things more reliable for parents, students and staff. She recommended moving the website from its current Google Sites platform to an updated platform.
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Still, the district needs a delicate touch when it comes to making changes to the website, Neumann said. Many parents, staff and students rely on the websites and drastic changes may not be ideal.
"It's not just a simple website," Neumann said. "Our website has fingers and tentacles into a lot of directions, so that's why I want delicate consideration. I don't want to disturb the kids and the educators."
The district should continue to have someone dedicated to working on the website, Neumann said. Editing access also needs to be restricted to small areas on each page in order to retain consistency and branding. Those who do have access to edit need proper training.
"Right now we have people in each building who can edit," Neumann said. "And if one of them gets an idea to change something all around, then it looks completely unlike everything else."
Board member Reed Campbell asked Neumann whether she had looked into working with students to allow them to edit the website. Younger students may be just as skilled at web design and editing, he said.
Neumann responded her staff had talked about doing that, but a different website platform would be needed. A different platform would be able to restrict editing access to certain sections, to prevent someone from removing large sections of content.
"I think it's a great idea," Neumann said. "They would probably be better at it than us."
Neumann thanked the board for the support she has received over the past four years in her position. She promised to remain an interested and involved community member and parent.
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"I've really put my heart into it, and I thank you for your support while I've been here," Neumann said.
Neumann has taken a position with United Healthcare, where she worked prior to coming to the school district.
SPENSER BICKETT may be reached at 218-855-5859 or spenser.bickett@brainerddispatch.com . Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/spenserbickett .
