Cost of website gets candidate’s attention

As published in the Record Journal Thursday May 10, 2012

By Russell Blair
Record-Journal staff
rblair@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2225

WALLINGFORD — When Greg Bachand heard the state planned to spend up to $180,000 on a website to highlight the route that the French general Rochambeau followed across Connecticut during the American Revolution, he decided to give it a try. Bachand, a Republican candidate for the 85th district state House seat, built a website using GoDaddy.com that links to the Wikipedia article about Rochambeau’s route. The total cost: $59.05.

“This $180,000 is the epitome of what’s wrong with the Connecticut legislature,” he said.

A bill passed by the state Senate requires the state Department of Economic and Community Development to create the website before January 2013 and include the trail, monuments, an interactive calendar and links to other websites featuring the trail. Half of the money would come from a state manufacturing grant fund and half from a matching grant from the National Park Service.

Bachand acknowledged that his creation – RomchabeauTrail.com – wasn’t an adequate substitute for a professional website, but said he doesn’t know where the state got such a high dollar amount.

According to the bill, the “actual cost will depend upon the complexity of the website, ranging from a minimal cost for a basic website, up to $180,000 for a complex interactive website.”

Mary Mushinsky, the Democratic incumbent in the 85th district who Bachand is challenging, said that the funding mechanism for the bill was changed on the Senate floor. The House has not yet voted on it.

“It was originally coming from historic preservation money,” she said. “And it was changed to come from manufacturing assistance.”

Mushinsky said she supported the idea behind the legislation, and that the website would help market businesses and restaurants along the route, but opposed using the manufacturing funds. “Tourism money is for tourism, but manufacturing money should be for manufacturing,” she said.

State Sen. Len Fasano, R-North Haven, whose district includes Wallingford, was one of four senators to oppose the legislation.

“$180,000 for a website when we’re running a $200 million deficit, it doesn’t make sense,” he said. “I respect the history and the legacy, but I don’t think it’s appropriate.”

Fasano said he also opposed taking the funds from manufacturing money. Since Bachand announced the creation of his website in a press release Tuesday, he’s gotten a lot of feedback. “I think this hit a nerve with the public,” he said. Bachand is also challenged by fellow Republican Shauna Simon-Glidden. A Republican caucus to elect the party’s nominee for the seat will be held on May 24 at 6 p.m. at Brothers Restaurant, 33 N. Cherry St. It is open to all Republicans who live in the district. Both Simon-Glidden and Bachand are making their first run for elected office. Mushinsky has held the seat since 1981.

The Rochambeau trail begins in Newport, R.I., where the French general and his more than 5,000 troops landed. After crossing Connecticut, it continues south through New York, where the French met up with George Washington and the Continental Army, and then through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland into Virginia, where combined American and French troops forced British General Cornwallis to surrender in October 1781 at the battle of Yorktown.

School website gets smarter - New Wallingford site more compatible with smartphones

As published in the Record Journal Thursday August 4, 2011

By Russell Blair
Record-Journal staff

WALLINGFORD — As more parents turn to the Internet for information, the Wallingford school district is overhauling its website to make it more user friendly and accessible for parents.

School Superintendent Salvatore Menzo said the new site, which launched Aug. 1, offers a cleaner, professional look, in addition to a mobile-friendly version.

“We’re excited,” Menzo said. “This gives parents the opportunity to stay connected. The first place people often turn to for information is the website.”

Randall Backus, director of Information Technology Services, worked with Menzo and a consultant from finalsite — a private web development firm — to overhaul the website. Backus said the project started last fall and cost a few thousand dollars.

“People are relying more and more on the website,” Backus said. “They check there first for information about delays and cancellations. We get calls if we don’t have that information up by 5:30 in the morning.”

Menzo said the new website focuses on a number of target audiences, including parents, members of the public and employees. The student section includes information such as summer reading book lists, the parent section has bus routes and registration information and the public section is geared toward Board of Education and budget information.

The mobile site is formatted for iPhone, Android and Blackberry users. The mobile-friendly website loads more quickly and is easier to use on mobile devices, Menzo said. Buttons direct users to the most-requested information, including school lunch menus, bus routes, calendars, delays and closings and a staff directory.

The district has also implemented a QR code for the website. QR codes are barcodes that, when scanned with a smartphone, direct the user to a specific website. Menzo said he hopes to have the QR code on all documents and letters sent home to parents to give them easy access to the website. In the future, it’s possible each school could have its own QR code to attach to school-specific documents, Menzo said.

Backus said the website gets a lot of hits not just locally, but from across the country. Menzo said that when many people are considering moving to a town, one of the first things they check is the school district’s website.

“You only get one chance to make a first impression,” Menzo said.

The old website faced complaints that it was cluttered and inconsistent. Backus said different school pages used different font sizes and colors, taking away from any sense of uniformity. The new website uses the same template across all pages. Backus said the layout of the site hadn’t been changed since it was first launched 10 to 15 years ago. The conformity will allow for more “branding” of the schools. Menzo said that he plans to bring back the Wallingford Public Schools seal on the website and use it in all official school communication.

Other changes include a reduction in the number of pages.

“When websites first launched, people wanted to put everything out there online,” Menzo said. “But we’ve learned less is more.”

Menzo said improving the website was part of the district’s five-year strategic plan in the areas of technology and communication.

“A district our size should have a vibrant website to celebrate the successes of our students,” he said.

Visit the Wallingford Public Schools website at
http://www.walling ford.k12.ct.us/, or scan the QR code in this story with your smartphone to be taken to the website.

Scan this QR code with your iPhone, Android or Blackberry to get easier access to the Wallingford public school system’s website, www.wallingford.k12.ct.us/page.cfm?p=10859.