Technology helps businesses cut paper use

August 2, 2008

About five years ago, the long hallway in the accounting department of Skyward Inc., a school administrative software company, was lined with file cabinets. Now, the cabinets are sitting empty in the garage.

The reason: The company primarily does business electronically.

“Somebody just was looking at these enormous amounts of file cabinets and saying ‘What is in here?’” President Scott Glinski said. “Then we started doing some analysis on all the paper that’s being shuffled around the office. The idea was, ‘Let’s reduce these as best we can.’”

But that’s just one of the ways the business is trying to be greener. It also started scanning documents online to decrease copier use from 5,000 to 1,000 each month and reducing emissions by holding online meetings.

Based in Stevens Point, but used nationwide, Skyward is a developer of student, finance and human administrative software for kindergarten to 12th grade. Currently, 81 percent of Wisconsin school districts use Skyward in some way.

“In general, I just think communicating electronically through cell phones, e-mail accounts, et cetera is sort of the way of the future,” Glinski said.

Skyward has two product lines with Web portals: a financial piece that runs in business offices, and a student information system that handles the record keeping.

Parents can go online for things such as report cards, attendance and meal plans. Some of the schools have quit printing paper report cards and mailing them out.

Marketing supervisor Bob Jung said this is a major conservation of paper and postage costs for the schools.

Glinski said he thinks information will keep being pushed out electronically, and they started to communicate with parents via e-mail or text message about things such as emergencies or account balances.

“If the parent says ‘Hey, if my lunch balance drops below $20, e-mail me or text my phone,’… they can jump online and make a credit card payment online for the food service account,” Glinski said. “Gone are the days where you have to go home and ask your child, ‘What did you learn today?’”

The Stevens Point Area School District uses the software, and it’s something departing superintendent Bette Lang said has worked well, since the district is trying to reduce paper use.

“It’s just a wonderful program,” she said. “Every district tries to create communication with homes, and this is a very excellent way to do that that is paperless.”



Stevens Point Journal
Nicole Strittmater, Stevens Point Journal staff